City Of Dreams
by John Tannius
Summary: Akane is having trouble at School and it is starting to have an affect on her dreams. Ok, so I managed an update after forever and a day! Finally Completed! Last Chapter and Epilogue!
1. Dreams of pigtailed princes

Akane smiled as she walked to school. It was a bright sunny morning and everything had gone well for a change. She had gotten up early for practice and finished up her morning routine with a leisure jog around the neighborhood. Then she surprised her family by cooking breakfast. She beamed brightly in remembrance of Kasumi begging for the recipe as her father loudly proclaimed it to be the best meal he'd ever eaten. Nabiki even offered to help her publish a cookbook, for a share of the profits of course.  
  
As she neared the gates of the school she reflected that this was probably the best day of her life and nothing could possibly happen to change that. She saw the gathered boys that she had to beat every morning and prepared for combat, determined not to let this ruin her good mood. Suddenly the entire group burst out laughing and Akane looked around desperately trying to find what they thought was so funny. Looking down she suddenly realized she was clothed in nothing but a pair of oversized clown shoes.  
  
The laughter grew...  
  
Akane shot up in bed gasping in a cold sweat. Calming she looked around and reassured herself that she was in her room. Looking at the clock she saw it was just after four in the morning. Flopping back into bed, Akane sighed in tired frustration. Something would have to change at school and soon, the dreams were just getting more and more weird...  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
City of Dreams  
  
Yet another fanfic by John Tannius.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Nabiki gave her younger sister a smirk as Akane came down the stairs for breakfast, "You look like hell sis."  
  
"Gee, thanks a lot." Akane stuck out her tongue.  
  
"Oh dear, more bad dreams Akane?" Kasumi asked as she brought breakfast in from the kitchen.  
  
Akane shrugged, "It's not that bad really. I'll be fine."  
  
In a rare show of compassion Nabiki spoke up, "I know the morning fights are bringing in money but I can help stop them if need be."  
  
Akane shook her head, "It's my fight. I will deal with this myself." Kasumi gave her a worried look but nodded as she began dishing food out.  
  
All further discussion was silenced as the girls' father came downstairs to eat. Soun looked at his daughters and inwardly sighed. It was obvious they were holding something from him but wouldn't talk about it to protect him. Soun knew he had problems controlling his emotions since his wife died but worried that his daughters might be taking on too much burden just to spare his feelings.  
  
Resolving to confront them about it later Soun sat down to read his morning paper and eat breakfast.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane walked to school, having let Nabiki go on ahead to set up her betting pools. She sighed as she passed Dr. Tofu's office. Maybe he could do something if she told him of her situation. She shook her head resolutely. This was her problem and she'd just have to deal with it. She just hoped she'd still have some friends after it was all said and done. All the boys wanted to get into her pants and the girls were starting to think she was just a tease, or a lesbian. Only Yuka and Sayuri stuck by her. Akane was thinking of cutting them loose rather than have their reputations tarnished by associating with her.  
  
Maybe she could just transfer to another school. No, that seemed to be running away from her problems. Her real problem was Tatewaki Kuno. If she could somehow deal with him then the rest of her problems would sort themselves out. But how do you convince someone you don't want to have anything to do with them when all they can hear is the sound of their own voice? She'd tried reason, then threats, and finally violence. Nothing seemed to work, the more she resisted, the harder he pursued her. It was almost as if he got off on abuse. Akane shuddered at that thought. As if boys weren't perverted enough, she was being chased by a masochist. If only she could find someone nice to date, someone strong enough to stand up to Kuno.  
  
Akane sighed as she visualized her knight on a white horse riding to save her from her dreadful life. She was shaken from her fantasies by the sounds of charging Furinkan High students. Letting the anger of having been interrupted from her daydreaming wash over her, Akane drove into the crowd of male students all making proclamations of love, or at least lust. She was a little rougher on them than usual and left more than a few unconscious. She thought she may have even broken an arm this time as well. Maybe that was what it took for them to get the hint. She turned to go into the school hoping against hope that he wouldn't be there today and she would go unmolested.  
  
Her prayers went unanswered as a rose shot through the air towards her. Catching it and luckily avoiding the thorns she looked to where Kuno stepped out from behind a tree and let her head droop. "Thank you for the rose Kuno but I'm running late and have to get to class. Besides, I've told you every day since this semester started that I'm not interested in dating you!" He voice rose from a whisper to shouting as she started stomping towards the front door of the school building.  
  
The man named Kuno smiled wistfully and brushed his bangs away from his eyes in a manner he was sure made the ladies hearts flutter, "Ahh dear Akane Tendo, to be so fierce yet so shy. If only you could admit your true feelings then we could drop this daily charade and move on to more romantic pursuits. I challenge you, if you win I will consent to date you."  
  
Akane cringed. Inwardly she felt like crying and she reached for the comfortable anger that she'd had since her mother died and embraced it. She leapt at Kuno with a kick that would have pulverized solid stone. He barely evaded and returned a stinging blow to her thigh as she passed him. As soon as she landed however, Akane kicked back, catching Kuno in the kidney as he turned to face her. As he foot came down, she completed her turn and caught Kuno with an uppercut as he attempted to bring his bokken to defend. Pushing aside the fake sword as if it wasn't there, Akane planted another fist into his solar plexus and caught him in the crotch with her foot as a coup' de grace. She heard groans from some of the recovering male students as Kuno dropped his bokken to cover his family jewels. Akane turned and walked into the school hoping the bell would not ring until she was seated in her classroom.  
  
As Kuno regained his breath and the dark spots cleared from his vision, he wondered if maybe it was Akane's time of the month.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane sat in the park on a swing idly watching the pinkish cotton candy clouds float by on a mild breeze. The sun was close to setting but she was in no hurry to go home. This was the park her mother used to take her to when she was younger. She'd play for hours on the swings or jungle gym. Sometimes she'd build castles in the sandbox or play tag or some other game with the other children. Mostly she loved being pushed on the swings by her mother. She idly dug her foot in the dirt. Her mother would have known what to do. She had always had the answers, until she started getting sick that is. Not even Dr. Tofu's father who used to run the clinic knew how to make her better.  
  
Akane sighed again trying to find the energy to get up and go home.  
  
"Hey, are you all right?"  
  
To say Akane was startled was something of an understatement. Picking herself up off the ground where she had slid out of the swing she turned to see who had spoken. In the next swing sat a boy about her age. He had black hair in a ponytail and the deepest blue eyes that were currently looking at her in concern. He was wearing a red silk shirt and black pants with black felt slip on shoes. All in all he was quite good looking and Akane blushed in spite of herself.  
  
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. You just looked so sad sitting here all by yourself. Would you like to talk about it?"  
  
Akane managed to collect her wits and sat back on the swing, "Not really. I was just thinking of some stuff I have to deal with and was wondering how my mother would have dealt with it."  
  
"Oh... is your mother... is she dead?" The boy asked in barely a whisper.  
  
Akane turned and looked at the strange boy and nodded slowly. She realized she'd never seen him before, "Are you new to the area? I don't think I've seen you before."  
  
The boy shrugged, "Kinda. Depends... I kinda travel a lot but this place looks familiar. By the way, my name is Ranma." He held out a hand.  
  
Akane took it hesitantly and gave it a shake, "Akane Tendo. So are you staying nearby right now?"  
  
"I might." He replied cryptically, "Hey, let's go get some ice cream, it always cheers me up. My treat." He jumped up and held out his hand to Akane.  
  
Akane thought for a moment then took his hand. It wasn't as if he was asking for a date, her mind rationalized.  
  
They walked for a few moments in silence before coming to an ice cream parlor Akane had never seen in her neighborhood before. Ranma opened the door for Akane and pointed to a booth that was empty near the front window. They sat down opposite each other as a waitress came over to take their orders.  
  
Ranma looked up and smiled, "Hiya Celeste, I'll have my usual. What would you like Akane? I recommend the rocky road here, it's the best I've ever had."  
  
Chocolate ice cream sounded very good right now as it was something Akane had always eaten when feeling extremely depressed. She nodded and asked for two scoops in a dish. Celeste nodded with a smile and turned to get their orders. Akane couldn't help but notice the two small batlike wings poking out of the back of Celeste's uniform. For some reason it didn't seem at all strange.  
  
Ranma noticed Akane's stare, "I've known Celeste ever since I was little. She's really nice. She'll probably make sure you get extra large scoops because you're with me." Ranma gave a conspiratal wink.  
  
Akane turned back to Ranma and suddenly noticed it was a bright sunny day outside. Ranma smiled.  
  
"See, your mood is already improving." He remarked.  
  
It all fell into place for her, "This is a dream."  
  
Ranma shrugged, "Dream, reality, what matters is we have ice cream." Celeste had returned and placed a dish of rocky road in front of Akane and a huge banana split with every topping imaginable in front of Ranma.  
  
Akane frowned as Ranma dug into his dessert.  
  
"What? Do I have something on my nose?" He asked.  
  
"None of this is real?" Akane pressed.  
  
Ranma took another bite of ice cream, "Seems pretty real to me. Take a bite, trust me."  
  
Akane hesitantly picked up a spoonful of chocolate and marshmallow confection and put it in her mouth. It tasted real. In fact it tasted better than any ice cream she'd ever had before. She took another bite, then another. Soon she'd finished off the whole bowl.  
  
"That was delicious!" Akane exclaimed.  
  
"Told ya." Ranma grinned as he finished off his belly ache special.  
  
"This is so much better than the dreams I've been having. It's nice to just sit and talk and eat ice cream without worrying about anything."  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow, "I take it things aren't so good right now? Is it your mother?"  
  
Akane's smile drooped, "No, my mother left us years ago. I've just been having some problems at school. It's nothing I can't deal with it."  
  
"Sometimes it helps to talk about it. Just getting it out can sometimes provide insight for a solution. Speaking of which, what's the answer to question forty two?"  
  
"Huh?" Akane said blanky.  
  
"Akane Tendo, what is the answer to question forty two?" Ranma said in a voice that wasn't Ranma's. In fact it sounded a lot like Tahara Sensei from math class...  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane jerked awake, knocking her books off her desk to the laughter of her fellow students.  
  
"Miss Tendo, if you cannot be bothered to pay attention in my class you will have to sit out the rest of class in the hallway. Buckets now."  
  
There were snickers from behind her as Akane picked up her books then got up and left the room.  
  
Standing in the hallway with a bucket of water in each hand, Akane thought back to the dream she'd just had.  
  
"My dreams are definitely getting weirder."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
I usually don't come up with original ideas very often. Most times I see something someone else has done and either make my own version or mix it with another stolen idea to make something new. Sometimes this is better than the original but more often it's not. City of Dreams came to me out of almost nowhere recently and wouldn't stop pestering me until I started writing it. I can't say much without giving away the plot but the basis for the mechanics of the story come from a series of conversations I had with a room mate almost seven years ago. Things will become apparent as the story progresses and I will save this space at the end to reply to any comments made in previous chapters.  
  
Notice of Disclaimer: 'dis claimer here claims dat 'dis work of fiction is based on da' works of Rumiko Takahashi and no one here is claimin' day's ownin' it see? 


	2. Leaving the Blind

It had been a horrible day. Kuno had managed to annoy Akane again at lunch and then later by having dozens of roses delivered in the middle of English class. She eventually snuck out the back of the school after her last class in hopes of avoiding the clueless bastard. She was tired and worn by the time she got home and informed Kasumi that she would be in the furo until dinner was ready. Kasumi watched worriedly as Akane disappeared into the furo. Nabiki came downstairs hearing her younger sister come home. She approached Kasumi.  
  
"I'm giving her another week to solve this herself. She may never forgive me but she'd my sister and family always comes before money." Nabiki said.  
  
Kasumi smiled, not her usual 'I'm an airhead' smile but a genuine smile of caring, "That's good to know. What do you have planned?"  
  
"I've been collecting evidence of Kuno's behavior since this whole mess started. First I'll try to reason with him in the way only I can. If that doesn't work then we can sue the pants off of him for emotional and traumatic stress. If only it was as easy to get a restraining order here as it is in the United States then this would have ceased to be a problem months ago."  
  
"Do what you can sister. Whatever happens we can't let father know." Kasumi warned.  
  
"Yeah, there's no telling what he'll do if he finds out Akane's being harrassed. Remember when he thought that boy was following Akane at the carnival two years ago?" Nabiki reminisced.  
  
"Oh yes, I recall it took you a week to raise the bail money to get him out." Kasumi giggled.  
  
Meanwhile Akane was soaking in the furo thinking about her day. Why did this have to happen to her? Maybe she should just give in and date the madman. Akane shuddered even in the warmth of the furo, she didn't want to do anything to actually encourage him. He was hard enough to deal with when she was fighting him every step of the way.  
  
It wasn't too long until Kasumi called through the door that dinner would be ready soon. Akane sighed and got out of the furo and dried off. She stopped by her room to get dressed and headed downstairs. The family was seated already and Nabiki looked up with an uncharacteristicly reassuring smile.  
  
Everyone ate dinner broken intermittently with insignificant small talk. No one wanted to broach the subject on everyone's mind. Namely Akane's problems. Although Soun was trying to come up with a way to ask his daughters what was happenning.  
  
Dinner ended and Akane went to do her homework. After an hour of letting the algebra problems evade her grasp she gave up and readied for bed. It was early but she felt maybe if she got enough sleep tomorrow would be better. As she lay awake on her bed her mind drifted to her dream from earlier in class. Who was Ranma? She was sure she'd never met anyone like him before. He certainly wasn't the sort of man she normally dreamt or fantasized about. Why would her subconscious create such an interesting character? Akane dwelt on the subject a while longer, her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep were of a pigtailed boy nature.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane left her house in a better mood this morning. Going to bed early must have been a good idea she thought. She walked happily down the road to school. Today she had a plan to deal with the morning crowd. She was going to sneak around to the back side of the school and jump over the boundary fence then go in one of the side doors. By avoiding the hentai horde completely she figured she could actually get to class on time without getting dirty.  
  
She started whistling an old tune her mother had sung to her as a child when she was startled by someone whistling with her. Looking around she noticed the boy from her dream walking along the top of fence next to her.  
  
He looked down and gave a roguish grin, "I seem to have a bad habit of startling you. Sorry about that Akane."  
  
Akane stopped, "You're that boy from my dream."  
  
"Ranma Saotome at your service." He said jumping to the ground next to Akane.  
  
"So I'm dreaming again." Her mood dropped.  
  
"Is it important?" Ranma asked.  
  
Akane wasn't sure how to take that, "Well it would mean you're not real." Akane finally suggested.  
  
Ranma laughed. Not a laugh of accusation or pity but one of someone who is truly happy, "No, I'm real enough I believe."  
  
Akane just shook her head, "I don't know what's going on but I'm going to be late for school." She turned to leave. After a few steps she realized Ranma was walking next to her.  
  
"I'm sorry you had to leave so suddenly last time, we didn't have a chance to finish our talk." Ranma said after a moment.  
  
"Hmm? What talk?"  
  
"You said you were having problems at school." Ranma reminder her.  
  
"Oh, Well I think I have that solved for today at least." Akane told Ranma of her plan to sneak around the hentai horde.  
  
Ranma nodded thoughtfully, "That might work in the Blind but probably not here."  
  
"The Blind? And why not?" Akane asked.  
  
"Oh, the Blind, the waking world. Where people walk with their eyes closed to what's around them. As for why it won't work, things behave differently here. You'll sneak around the school only to find yourself back at the front again or something equally ironic. That's a classic nightmare avoidance scenario." Ranma explained.  
  
Akane blinked. Definitely weird. She was worrying she'd have to start seeing a shrink soon.  
  
"So what do you suggest?" She asked.  
  
Ranma stopped and scratched his head, "Well I think I'd have to see the situation first to get a better idea of what you're dealing with. Maybe you should just let this play out with me watching. I'll be there for you if things get too weird."  
  
Akane was hesitant. She really disliked these school morning dreams, "Um, I'd like to avoid this all together if possible."  
  
"Well, I guess if you're too scared..." Ranma trailed off.  
  
"What did you say?" Akane felt her anger rise.  
  
"I'm just saying that if you're too scared to face these dreams then there's nothing I can do to help you." Ranma replied.  
  
"I am not scared! I'm a martial artist and I'm not afraid of a bunch of perverted boys! Besides, this is just a stupid dream anyway." Akane growled.  
  
Ranma shrugged but didn't say anything.  
  
Akane stood quietly for a moment then grabbed Ranma's hand and pulled him towards the school. She'd show him! As they neared the school she could hear the gathered crowd. Suddenly they hentai horde surged forward like they did every morning since the beginning of the semester when Kuno made his stupid proclamation. Akane tore into them ducking and weaving as she threw bodies around. Soon the courtyard was cleared and Akane took a moment to wipe her brow.  
  
Ranma jumped down from the fence he was watching from and clapped at Akane's victory, "Wow, you're pretty good!"  
  
Akane gave him a wane smile that quickly fled as she reached out to catch the rose that was thrown her way. She secretly suspected Kuno watched sailor moon and had a tuxedo mask fetish.  
  
"Once again we meet on the field of battle my dear Akane." Kuno said as he stepped out from behind the nearby tree.  
  
"So is this the guy who's been bugging you?" Ranma asked as he slowly walked around the man named Kuno.  
  
Akane nodded wondering why Kuno had just kind of stopped and was just standing there. Ranma completed his circuit of the kendoist and stepped back towards the gates, "Sorry for interrupting. Please, continue."  
  
Kuno gave Ranma a dirty look then turned to Akane, "Once again I challenge you. For as I have proclaimed, only the one who can best you in combat is worthy of your hand."  
  
The fight that followed was short and very typical of Akane trashing Kuno. She left his unconscious body lying on the walkway and turned to Ranma. He had a troubled look on his face.  
  
"You deal with this every morning?" He asked.  
  
"Unfortunately, and lately at whenever I sleep I go through something like this too. Although sometimes it's embarrassing." Akane blushed slightly.  
  
"Hmm, let me guess. You show up for school and realize you forgot to get dressed." Ranma said. Seeing Akane's blush deepen he added, "Don't worry about it. It happens to everyone."  
  
"So what do you think?" Akane asked, changing the subject.  
  
Ranma frowned, "I'll need to ask around and also check some things out as well. I'll get back to you. In the meantime, this is a dream, go do something besides school." He grinned at her as he slowly faded leaving his smile to fade last.  
  
Akane thought about it. Before she met Ranma she'd never been aware of dreaming while in a dream. What would I like to do more than anything? She decided she needed some ice cream to think it over.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Still confused? It will become clear as we go. I'm sure a lot of people are wonder just what I'm attempting here and from what reviews I've received just on the first chapter I am encouraged to keep going. Just keep in mind that other fics as well as school may slow down later chapters. I'm sure a lot of you are wondering just what Ranma is. Is he a dream figment of Akane's overstressed mind? Is he some sort of god, incubus, or spirit? Well all I have to say is... That is a secret.  
  
**********  
  
Ranma screamed, "Get back to the Enterprise and contact the Jurian fleet. They have to be warned that Goku's been assimilated by the Borg!"  
  
Tenchi nodded and turned in grim determination only to suddenly stop and gasp in surprise.  
  
There he stood, a perfect fusion of man and machine, glowing with a yellow aura as his long yellow hair fell down his back showing that he was at Super Saiyan level 3. His prosthetic eye glowed an evil red as he looked coldly down on the two other men, "I am Gokutous, you will join the collective or you will be destroyed. Resistance is futile."  
  
-Excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's excellent adventure. 


	3. A Kuno for your Thoughts

Akane woke the next morning feeling better than she had in weeks. She'd had the dream where she cooked a huge seven course dinner and everyone absolutely loved it. Of course there had been that earlier dream with the strange boy Ranma again.  
  
She thought over her idea from her dream and decided to try it. If she could avoid the hentai horde then she could maintain her good mood. Maybe, just for today, she could get Nabiki to leak to Kuno that Akane wasn't at school at all just to get a break. She made her way to school early and took a side street before she came to where she'd be noticed. It took longer than she thought to work her way around to the back side of the school. She realized she'd never actually been to this part of the neighborhood before and wondered just what it would have looked like in her dream if she had taken that route. She was relieved to find another, smaller gate that was unlocked and she passed through and onto the school grounds. Quickly as possible she ran to one of the rear doors and went inside. She made her way to Nabiki's class and managed to get her attention as she was talking to one of her many henchwomen.  
  
Nabiki quickly came over as Akane ducked out of sight into the hall, "How did you manage to get by the Hentai brigade?"  
  
Akane told her sister her plan and asked for help dealing with Kuno.  
  
Nabiki smiled. Her little sister could be downright devious if she wanted to be, "Sure sis I can help. Besides no one thought to bet on a no show today, and I can always charge Kuno for information on where to find his fierce tigress. Hmm, Are you planning on going to Kyoto today?"  
  
Akane giggled, "You can tell him I felt like going to Kyoto. That way you're not lying. Because I do feel like it I just won't be going."  
  
"I like your style. You ever want to apprentice under me just let me know ok?"  
  
Akane just smiled and went to her class. The few people already there gawked at her as she sat down in her seat. She received more stares as students trickled in and just before the bell rang she could hear Kuno proclaim that he was 'coming for his distraught princess' as he ran out of the school grounds.  
  
Akane smiled as she got her books out. Yes, today was going to be a good day.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Stretching out in front of the TV, Akane pondered the last couple of days. Her nightmares had stopped suddenly. She thought that somehow her dream of Ranma was responsible. Granted she hadn't had any more dreams of him or any dreams that she was aware of being in a dream either. And as all dreams do in the waking world, they were beginning to fade as the real world demanded her attention. It was Friday night and because Furinkan was one of the many schools adopting the Saturday off policy she would be able to sleep late in the morning.  
  
Everyone else had gone to bed already. Akane wanted to watch some cheesy late American drama that had been poorly dubbed. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open. The story was so boring. She really should turn off the TV and go to bed. Just don't close your eyes...  
  
"Yuck, I don't blame you for falling asleep. This movie sucks."  
  
Akane's eyes snapped open to see Ranma sitting on a pillow on the other side of the floor.  
  
"Anyway, I've been waiting for you to finally fall asleep. Come on, we have things to do and people waiting for us."  
  
"Huh?" Akane said intelligently.  
  
Ranma laughed, "This is a first, you're only half asleep. Come on, ignore that crappy movie. We have more interesting stuff lined up tonight."  
  
Akane nodded and focused on Ranma. She got up off the floor and turned off the TV. She noticed it was daytime outside. Ranma led her outside and together they headed off towards Furinkan.  
  
"So where are we going Ranma? And what have you been up to the last couple of nights?" In a way Akane thought it was silly to talk to a dream like it was a real person, a friend even, but it was also comforting. She didn't have very many friends left after Kuno came into her life. Maybe Ranma was her need for companionship manifesting in her dreams. He certainly didn't seem like her ideal man. He was short, almost her height, moderately attractive, yet not Bishounen, and he seemed her age. Akane generally went for older men, at least she thought she did. There was the crush on Doctor Tofu...  
  
"We're visiting a friend of yours to see about solving that problem you've been having." Ranma answered breaking Akane out of her introspection.  
  
"I haven't had nightmares in two days. And I've been avoiding my morning fights as well."  
  
"Temporary solutions. We need to get to the root of the problem. Oh, and you're welcome."  
  
"What for" She asked.  
  
"The nightmares? I stopped them, temporarily at least. I called in a few favors." Ranma smirked.  
  
Akane pondered that as the approached Furinkan High. When they arrived she saw that the place was empty of people. Ranma stopped and brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. Suddenly a shadow cast by the nearby wall rose up and assumed a vaguely humanoid appearance.  
  
"Allo', Ranma! Ye brung the wee mis by did ye?" The creature bubbled with a strange accent. It seemed to bow to her, "Sorry luv about the night scares. Jus doin me job is all. Nutin' personal mind ye."  
  
Ranma smiled his enigmatic smile, "Joe here was your nightmare case handler. I've convinced him to help us in our quest to solve your Kuno problem. Shall we go?" He gestured away from the school in another direction than they had arrived.  
  
They traveled for a short while until Akane's curiosity got the better of her, "How exactly are we going to stop Kuno from bothering me at school? This is just a dream right? And what about that thing? It caused my nightmares, can we trust it?"  
  
"After we're done here. I'll show you around. You treat this too much like the Blind and not as the reality it is. As for Joe, I've known him for a long time. Don't let his looks fool you, I trust him completely. Ah we're here."  
  
Akane realized they were standing at the front gates of the Kuno mansion, "Joe, you want to reconnaissance or should I?" Ranma asked.  
  
Joe shrugged causing black tarry shadow to slump off, "I don' mine a bit. Get me a look see so I knows how to angle it." With that the shadowy oil slick sank into the shadow of a tree and disappeared.  
  
Ranma leaned against the tree and crossed his arms, "I convinced Joe that Kuno would probably make for better negative energy than you. You see, people that visit from the Blind carry a lot of emotional energy that they build up while they're awake. It's the job of people like Joe or Celeste to drain off this energy for other uses. Not only does it feed people here but it allows the people living in the Blind to remain sane. I'm sure you've heard of people who don't get enough sleep."  
  
Akane nodded slowly, "I'm beginning to think this is all real. No way is my imagination warped enough to come up with all this."  
  
"I knew it was only a matter of time before you came around." Ranma laughed.  
  
"So does that mean you live here in the dreamworld or do you visit like me?" Akane asked.  
  
Ranma frowned, "I'm kind of a special case. Maybe I'll tell you sometime."  
  
At that moment Joe reappeared halting further conversation on the subject, "Well guvna' it's a right mess in there. Plenty fer me ta work wit. If ye like, we kin git started. Me lady, ifn' ye please." He gestured towards the shadow he had emerged from.  
  
Akane hesitated, she still had no idea exactly what was going on or what was supposed to happen. Ranma nodded to her, so gulping nervously, she stepped into the shadow of the tree and darkness engulfed her. She then felt someone's hand on her arm and hoped it was Ranma's. After a moment the darkness parted to reveal Akane's worst nightmare.  
  
Kuno sat in a low throne dressed as medieval royalty surrounded by literally hundreds of Akanes in various states of non-dress. One was feeding him grapes one at a time while another one had his pants open and was servicing him in a way that made Akane want to retch.  
  
Ranma blanched, "This is much worse than I thought. Still, there is plenty to work with. Think you can handle it Joe?"  
  
The shadow shrugged in a manner reminiscent of bubbles surfacing through mud, "Ifn not, the rest o' me boys down et the union will take up the slack. Ye hit a reguler oil mine lad, me thanks to ye."  
  
"Just remember the deal, I want something bad to happen every time he dreams about Akane here." Ranma emphasized.  
  
Akane was beginning to think she'd never feel clean again, "I thought the nightmares were going to stop?" She pleaded to Ranma.  
  
Ranma nodded, "Just hold on and let Joe get to work."  
  
Akane grabbed Ranma's arm for support and watched the black nightmare.  
  
Joe shivered like bad jello for a moment then reached out and merged with the shadow of the nearest naked Akane. The dream girl assumed a darker hue as if a cloud had passed overhead. The darkness slowly passed through the harem until it reached the two girls 'playing' with Kuno. The scene shifted like a ripple through water. Now there were Akanes holding babies, ironing clothes, cooking. Most were smoking or showing significant weight gain. Kuno himself had quite the beer belly and the mansion had taken on the likeness of a run down trailer house. At least a dozen Akanes were nagging Kuno to take out the garbage or paint the house or any number of mundane chores. Kuno cringed with each chore and his face showed more and more panic. When an Akane pushed a wailing baby into his arms to be changed Kuno screamed and the whole dreamscape vanished.  
  
"Heh, he must have woke up half the neighborhood screaming from that nightmare." Ranma laughed. The shadowy Joe formed up next to the two and held up a small canister. "Great Work Joe. A masterpiece as always."  
  
"I aims to please. Wit this bloke I be makin' me quota befor' the next shift. Ifn' ye not be needin' me fir anytin' else I be off to me next case." Joe bowed again and shifted off into the shadows.  
  
"I'd say a few nights of that and Kuno won't even be able to look at you without screaming." Ranma said.  
  
Akane wasn't quite sure how to take that. On one hand Kuno leaving her alone was a good thing, on the other... Maybe having Kuno scared shitless of her was a good thing as well. She grinned at Ranma.  
  
"I don't know how to thank you. Assuming this is even real, which I'm still not convinced." She trailed off.  
  
"I don't know of anyway to convince you other than to observe Kuno's behavior for a while. Considering how stubborn you've made him out to be it might take a while to get through his thick psyche. Anyway I promised to show you around after we were done her so let's go." Ranma reached out and grabbed what seemed to be a zipper out of thin air and pulled down, opening a hole in the air. Taking Akane's hand he pulled her through and closed the hole behind him.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Whew! This is getting harder to write. I have two projects due at school soon (one sculpture and one Japanese oral presentation) so updates will come slower. Also is the fact that I've started working on my other fics again now that the muse is upon me. Expect more Ah! My Akane and Crossgen- Element of Shadows soon. As for my others, depending on inspiration and time, I will try to actually finish a fic before starting any new ones... (Like that's ever going to happen!)  
  
Ranma shifted his battleoid to fighter mode, shifting genders in the process. Thoughtfully chewing on a petal of the flower of life she surveyed the battlefield. Idly she noted Tenchi piloting EVA-01 using the wings of the light hawk to destroy both tie fighters and Zentraedi battlepods. Her main focus however was on the six Borg cubes accompanying the assimilated Death Star. She just hoped their diversion worked long enough for the SDF-1 to fold in and use the main gun on the monstrosity before if could fire on the earth...  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	4. City of Dreams

Akane stepped out into a crowded street. At least most of it was a street. About ten feet away it became a crowded forest trail. Looking back she saw what could only be a city growing up impossibly high into the distant sky that was lit yet not daylight. Some of the buildings were literally so tall she couldn't see the tops of them. Then there was the weird mix of architecture. The buildings ranged from ancient Greek style temples to huge mediaeval castles to modern skyscrapers to weird futuristic towers. There were even structures that Akane could swear were organic in nature.  
  
Then there were the people, if you could call them that. the constant flow of the crowd provided Akane with a continuous variety of forms. There were humans, elves, dwarves, fairies, dragons, and even the occasional cartoon or anime figure. She felt that she was in a Warner Brothers meets George Lucas film. Avoiding a Wacko Warner being chased by a pikachu, Akane turned to look questioningly at Ranma who had appeared behind her.  
  
Ranma made a grand sweeping gesture with his hand, "Welcome to the City of Dreams."  
  
Akane continued to stare wide eyed. Off in the distance Godzilla faced off against Goku and a giant Howard Stern.  
  
"What exactly is this place Ranma?" Akane asked quietly feeling culture shock set in.  
  
"This is where all dream creatures live. This is the very center of the dream reality. Come on, I'll show you around." Taking Akane's hand, Ranma pulled her towards the city proper.  
  
Akane was on the verge of suffering from information overload. There were people and buildings she recognized from TV or movies. She ducked instinctively as three power puff girls buzzed her on their way to deal the aforementioned Howard Stern. She watched as Hulk Hogan battled Yu-gi-oh in a card match.  
  
"Ha! I'll play the dark magician!" Yu-gi announced.  
  
"Oh Yeah!? Well the hulkster is gonna play his rare level one hundred Ash's Pikachu card." Hogan boasted.  
  
"Haha! Little did you know that I had secretly played a card face down earlier! Come forth Super Saiyan four Goku!" Yu-gi shouted back.  
  
Ranma just looked at Akane and shrugged, "Don't ask me, I don't know how those damn card games are played either."  
  
They continued on for a few minutes before coming to a place Akane found familiar. Ranma walked up and opened the glass door for Akane. As she entered she realized it was the ice cream parlor Ranma had taken her to when they first met.  
  
"How did this get here?" Akane asked as they took a booth.  
  
"It's always been here. In this reality, things are only as close as they are needed to be.  
  
"So when I was depressed the shop was needed in Nerima?"  
  
Ranma shook his head, "Not Nerima, it was in your dreamscape. It's kinda hard to explain to someone who hasn't lived in the blind for a great length of time."  
  
Celeste once again came to their booth and took their orders. Giving Ranma a wink she went off to get their ice cream.  
  
"Why does Celeste have bat wings?" Akane asked Ranma.  
  
"Hmm?" Ranma seemed to have become distracted for a moment, "Oh, she's a succubus."  
  
"What?!" Akane had read about such things in some of the manga Nabiki liked to buy. "Aren't they evil creatures who seduce men in their sleep and drain them of their energy?"  
  
Celeste came back with their orders and gave Ranma what Akane could only assume was a knowing smile before leaving to serve another customer.  
  
Ranma took a sip from his soda, "You're right about everything except the evil part. You have to remember, most creatures in the dreamworld live off of excess human emotional energy. At most a few guys wake up having to change their sheets in the morning. I've never heard of anyone dying of a wet dream."  
  
Akane blushed a little, remembering a few times she'd woken up with her hand where it normally wasn't. She wondered though if maybe Ranma was an incubus. He hadn't made any moves to seduce her though. Then she remembered that Ranma had said he was a special case. She suddenly realized Ranma was talking to her.  
  
"...can't keep thinking like you're in the Blind. This place can't be mapped, not in the sense you're used to anyway. This place is built of the wants and desires of not only the people living in the blind but the creatures living here. It used to be bigger but I guess people don't dream as much as they used to. Then there's the fact that many of the creatures that used to live in the Blind retreated here as humans slowly pushed them out of their lands. You'll see a lot of elves and dragons and other things from myths and legends running around here. Some are dreams and some are real... not much difference anymore I guess."  
  
Akane just nodded while eating her sundae. She wasn't quite sure she understood what Ranma was saying but it sort of made sense. She was starting to wonder if maybe she had finally cracked and she was actually wearing a straight jacket while sitting in a rubber room somewhere. "Heh, at least Kuno couldn't visit me there." She snorted.  
  
"Hmm?" Ranma looked up from his parfait.  
  
"Nothing. So, I've already been here before. What else did you have in mind to show me?" Akane asked.  
  
Ranma smirked, "Well... have you ever gone diving without scuba gear? Or how about flying under your own power. There are tons of museums to see. There are also quite a few dojos here if you want to learn some new technique or just test your skills."  
  
Akane perked up at the mention of improving her martial arts, "Do you know martial arts?"  
  
Ranma nodded, "My father was training me before..."  
  
"Before what?" Akane leaned in, curious about Ranma's past.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about it right now." He looked up with a smile replacing his momentary frown, "Come on, it'll be just like a date!"  
  
Akane blushed a little. She took his hand anyway. After all, it was only a dream right?  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane woke with a smile on her lips. Her eye fluttered as she became aware of her surroundings. The room was dark except for the glow of the television set. She realized she'd fallen asleep watching that horrible movie. Then she noticed the movie was still on. Looking at the clock she saw that only twenty minutes had passed. Akane was sure she'd been with Ranma for hours, maybe days, it was hard to tell. She'd seen and done so much it was hard to remember, just like most dreams on waking. She remembered sparring with Ranma in a dojo dedicated to one of the fighting Kami. He was pretty good. She blushed remembering how she had tripped and fallen on him by accident. His body had been firm yet soft in just the right places and she'd been able to feel his muscled chest underneath his shirt.  
  
"Baka." She berated herself, "Falling in love with a dream just because real life sucks..."  
  
Getting up, she walked over to the TV and shut it off. Turning out the remaining light she went upstairs to her own bed, thoughts of pigtailed martial artists foremost in her mind.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma sat back against the wall looking at the spot Akane disappeared from. He brooded for a while, debating on what to do next. It would be a while before he'd see her again. At least it would feel that way to him. Time had little meaning here but to a young man who was quickly becoming infatuated, any wait could seem like an eternity.  
  
"Well, nothing to do for it except find something to occupy me until I see her again." Ranma said to himself as he got to his feet.  
  
He turned around and saw a beautiful woman in rich robes walk into the dojo. She radiated an aura of peace and contentment. She looked at Ranma with a soft smile tinged with sadness, "You should not have brought her here Ranma."  
  
"I know, it's just... I've never had anyone my own age to be friends with and she seemed so sad and lonely..."  
  
"But she does not belong here. Her world, her life is in the Blind. I might overlook you breaking the rules occasionally but other may not. I'd hate to see you punished over something as trivial as this girl."  
  
"I know. I'll be careful Mother, I promise."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
It was early Sunday that found Akane on her morning jog. She hadn't seen Ranma again in her dreams since Friday night and was actually missing him when she wasn't banging her head for obsessing over a dream. Returning to the dojo, she decided to break some bricks to work off her frustrations. After changing into her gi she began her warm up. It was almost an hour later when Akane was interrupted by a flash as Nabiki took her picture.  
  
"Sometimes I wonder about you sis. In a way it's no wonder boys treat you the way they do with the way you act." Nabiki teased.  
  
Akane stuck her tongue out at her sister, "Sorry I'm not as feminine as you. Besides not every one thinks the world revolves around boys!"  
  
"Then I guess this wouldn't interest you." Nabiki turned and walked back into the house.  
  
Confused, Akane decided to follow and see what was going on.  
  
It was a short time later that all three girls were sitting at the table across from their father. Akane noticed Nabiki had changed into a formal kimono. Her father had been crying and kept looking at a postcard with a picture of a panda on it.  
  
"What's this all about Father?" Kasumi asked.  
  
Soun cleared his throat, "Well daughters, this began years ago when Akane was still an infant..."  
  
A few minutes later...  
  
"Fiancé!?" was heard from inside the house.  
  
"Yes he's the son of an old friend of mine, Genma Saotome. If one of you were to marry him then the legacy of the Anything Goes School would be secure." Soun Continued.  
  
Akane didn't hear anything past 'Saotome'. That was Ranma's name! She felt chills as a creepy feeling entered her gut. This was too weird. Maybe it was some kind of premonition. If Ranma was anything in real life like he was in her dreams, Akane felt she could possibly go along with the engagement. Her heart began beating faster at the prospect of a real boyfriend who she could do all the stuff she'd been dreaming of with. She vaguely heard her father say something about training in China or something. Then she heard sounds of something coming from the front door.  
  
"That must be them now." Soun said, getting up.  
  
Akane got up and managed to beat her sister Nabiki to the hallway right behind her father.  
  
"Saotome my old friend!" Soun yelled as her rounded the corner.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Am I evil? Yes I am! So far I've gotten nothing but good reviews. I like that. I've also noticed the lack of questions regarding the setting of the story so I'm assuming that means I've written it well enough to be understood easily. Anyway, next time, Akane meets the Saotome's. It's not what you might think.  
  
Ranma kicked a rock out of his way as he grumbled beneath his breath. What kind of name was 'Third Earth' anyway? So far all he'd seen was some weird robotic care bears and a tribe of Amazon women that he had avoided with great haste. He was starting to wonder if there was anybody on this planet who was good enough to help fight the great evil that had been let loose upon the multiverse. That was when he heard the sounds of a vehicle approaching. It looked like a tank only animal shaped. For some reason it made Ranma nervous. Then the hatch opened and he got his first look at the people inside.  
  
"C-c-c-ccccat!" Ranma screamed and hightailed it as fast as he could unfortunately straight towards the Amazon village.  
  
"What was that all about?" Lion-el asked Panthro. Panthro just shrugged.  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	5. Blame it on Ryu

"Saotome my old friend!" Soun yelled as he rounded the corner followed by Akane.  
  
As Nabiki and Kasumi made it to the hallway they saw Soun and Akane running back at a frantic pace. The huge panda that was carrying a struggling screaming figure seemed to be the obvious reason for their discomfort.  
  
Akane hid behind her father. Was she dreaming again? This seemed so bizarre and Akane was actually starting to have trouble telling if she was awake or dreaming.  
  
"Damn it old man. Put me down! You're scaring them shitless!" The figure yelled at the panda.  
  
The panda seemed to understand because it set the person down. Akane leaned in as her father stepped forward. The person was dressed in baggy camouflage pants and a black muscle shirt with a red bandanna around flaming red hair.  
  
"You wouldn't be..." Soun began.  
  
"Yeah, I'm Ryu Saotome. Who the hell'r you?" the figure said acidly.  
  
Ignoring the comment Soun leapt forward and grabbed the person in a crushing embrace, "I'm so glad you're finally here!"  
  
Akane meanwhile was taken aback, not only was this not Ranma but the person standing in front of her was obviously a girl! It was kind of hard not to notice the huge breasts that peaked out the sides of the muscle shirt.  
  
"Uh, daddy?" Akane tried to get his attention. It seemed Soun noticed something was different about Ryu himself and proceeded to pass out.  
  
"Oh my! What strange friends father has." Kasumi remarked.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
It was a little while later that Akane found herself defending Ryu from Nabiki while they all sat waiting for Soun to wake up. The fact the Ryu didn't seem to mind Nabiki massaging her breast didn't register.  
  
"Leave her alone Nabiki! Just because you're disappointed about not having a new boy toy doesn't mean you should take it out on Ryu." She turned to Ryu, "Hi! I'm Akane, want to be friends?"  
  
Ryu gave her a blank look before nodding, "Sure why the hell not."  
  
"Would you like to see the dojo? Maybe we could spar." Akane hoped she could ask him some questions about his family as well.  
  
Ryu's face had a strange glint to the eyes, "Sure maybe we could knock about a bit before dinner."  
  
Soon Akane was facing off against Ryu in the dojo, "This is just sparring OK?"  
  
"Yeah sure. Not a prob... I'll go easy on you." Ryu smirked.  
  
Akane's familiar anger perked but she brought it under control. Ranma had told her the other night that her temper was her greatest enemy and it was good advice even if it was only a dream. Ryu just stood there, obviously waiting for Akane to make the first move. The way she stood however was very familiar. Deciding to act, Akane moved forward with a feint kick followed by a uppercut as she closed in. Ryu was almost caught off guard but managed to angle away as she leapt into the air to avoid both the kick and the punch. As Akane pressed her attack, Ryu wove and dodged keeping her eyes on Akane at all times. Akane was getting frustrated, this was almost as bad as her dream fighting Ranma. Her eyes widened. It was just like fighting Ranma! He had shown her some moves that had allowed her to pierce Ranma's defenses. She wondered idly if they would really work as she maneuvered Ryu into position.  
  
"Look! A ten yen coin!" Akane shouted pointing behind Ryu.  
  
"What? Where?" Ryu looked behind her to see. Akane managed to tag her on the shoulder lightly.  
  
Ryu whipped around and dodged the follow up kick. Her eyes narrowed. That was a Saotome school technique! How was this girl able to know it? Ok, the kid gloves were off.  
  
Ryu sidestepped another hip kick and came in with her own attack. She hit Akane in the solar plexus a little harder than she needed to and Akane went down gasping for air. "Uh, sorry about that. I thought you could take that hit." She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.  
  
Akane caught her breath wondering how big the bruise would be tomorrow, "That's all right. You're pretty good. You wouldn't happen to have a brother named Ranma would you?"  
  
Ryu stiffened a little and brought a neutral look to her face, "Never heard the name before. 'Sides, I'm an only child."  
  
Akane only nodded and left the dojo, deep in thought.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
A short while later Akane was preparing to take a bath. After all she had done her morning jog and worked out in the dojo twice. She thought about Ryu's reaction to her mention of Ranma. She'd have to talk to her sister about finding out everything she could about the Saotome's. She noticed Ryu's clothes in the hamper and wondered if it was all right to take a bath at the same time. Something about the girl rubbed Akane the wrong way. There was something almost cruel and lecherous about the way she looked at Akane and her sisters. Akane also suspected Ryu had hit her chest hard on purpose. Seeing the knock first sign on the door she decided to play it safe and knocked, "Ryu? Do you mind if I come in?"  
  
"Uh... No! Don't come in. I'll be out in a minute." A voice answered.  
  
Akane frowned. That wasn't Ryu's voice, in fact it sounded like...  
  
Akane wrapped a towel around herself and slid the door open. The was only one person inside and it was a boy stepping out of the furo. He looked up, his surprised look giving way to a satisfied smile.  
  
"Well if you really want to come in then be my guest. I'll even wash your back for you." He smiled lecherously.  
  
Akane growled, "Who are you and where's Ryu?"  
  
"I'm Ryu Saotome. If you're not going to come in then could you hand me a towel? It's kind of chilly and I'd hate for my boys to shrink up." He gestured to his crotch.  
  
Akane blushed red and stepped back closing the door behind her. Fleeing back to her room she passed her father talking to another man. Entering her room she quickly put on a robe and crossed the hall to Nabiki's room. Going inside she locked the door behind her. Nabiki looked up from her bed quickly hiding the manga she'd been reading under her pillow. Seeing it was only Akane she relaxed and pulled it back out.  
  
"Geez sis, don't you ever knock?" Nabiki said trying to find her place.  
  
"Sorry, there was a strange boy in the bathroom who said he was Ryu Saotome. I got scared and ran. I think he's a pervert! I'm sure he did something awful to Ryu!" Akane said in a panic.  
  
Nabiki was about to say something when both girls heard their father calling for them from downstairs. Gulping nervously, Akane looked to Nabiki who just shrugged and the two girls went downstairs. When they reached the dining room Akane saw the older man sitting next to the boy claiming to be Ryu. Soun gestured for the girls to sit.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane couldn't believe it. Ryu was really a guy! She sat dumbfounded as Ryu and Genma changed back and forth between fighting over the pond or pouring hot water on themselves. She listened to their explanations of their training trip to Jusenkyou and how they were cursed. Imagine a place where you could change into something else just by being splashed with cold water! Akane nodded to herself. There was no doubt about it, she was dreaming again. Deciding to make the best of it she stood up while Onna- Ryu and the Panda were duking it out.  
  
"Well, this is all very interesting but I'm going to go find Ranma and have some ice cream." She turned and left her very confused family wondering exactly what was going on.  
  
Nabiki stared in shock. Akane was just brushing off this whole mess to go on a date? Then it struck her, Akane on a DATE!? Nabiki got up, deciding to follow her sister.  
  
"I'm going to go see what's the matter with Akane." She quickly left to follow her strangely acting sister.  
  
Kasumi starting to see where things were headed decided not to be left holding the bag at the altar, "Oh dear, I should get back to making dinner." She quickly headed towards the kitchen.  
  
Soun sat in shock for a moment as Ryu and Genma came back in and changed into their normal forms. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned to his two new houseguests.  
  
"Well, you've met my daughters. Pick any one you like and she'll be your fiancé."  
  
Ryu sat down with a familiar smile on his face, "I think I'd like to get to know them better before I decide on just one. After all, they all have nice assets."  
  
Soun gulped at that hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Where the hell is Ranma?!? I ain't tellin' :P Some of you may have recognized Ryu from the manga and are wondering why the hell he's here. Well I'll tell ya'll later. Kinda scary that Kasumi currently has a better grip on reality than Akane at the moment eh? Anyway, next time: Ranma reveals some of his past. Nabiki figures out what's going on with Akane. Kuno get's the crap beat out of him again. And Kasumi cooks!  
  
Tenchi looked up at the huge robot and gulped nervously. He had come to this planet because they were likely to be one of the most probable targets of the united Borg fleet. "As I said earlier. The Borg assimilate technology and races into their collective. I wanted to warn you because this whole planet and the races living here were robotic and at high risk of assimilation. Sir..." He finished lamely.  
  
Optimus Prime looked down at the human who had come to Cybertron. If what he said was true and the evidence he brought was compelling, then this might be the key to calling a cease fire with the Decepticons.  
  
"Very well, Tenchi was it? I will listen to your proposal."  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	6. The Origin of Ranma part one

Nabiki trailed behind Akane as the younger girl seemed to wander aimlessly around the neighborhood. Considering it was getting close to dark, Nabiki wondered what exactly her sister was up to. Eventually they came to the nearby park and Akane went to the swings and sat down.  
  
"Damn it Ranma where are you?" Akane shouted. She turned suddenly as she heard someone sit in the swing next to her. Nabiki looked at her sister with concern and curiosity from her position on the swing.  
  
"So who's Ranma? A new boyfriend? I could see why you'd keep it a secret with Kuno around and all."  
  
Akane blushed, "He's not a boyfriend. Well, he is a boy and a friend but not like that. Anyway, after that mess back home I decided Ranma couldn't be too far away so I decided to go hang out for a while. That's usually what I do when I dream these days."  
  
Nabiki was now showing confusion along with concern and curiosity, "What do you mean dreaming?"  
  
"Oh, well that Ryu guy and his dad. When I saw them change like that I realized I had to be dreaming so I went to find Ranma. He usually helps me with these weird dreams. After all, he stopped my nightmares."  
  
"Akane, you're not making any sense here. You're not dreaming. As hard as it is to believe, Ryu and Genma Saotome have a weird curse and Ryu is going to be engaged to one of us whether we like it or not. If you're going for the insanity ploy to get out of it, I have to tell you that it's working."  
  
Akane stuck her tongue out at her sister playfully, "Don't be silly, magic doesn't exist in the Blind. At least not anymore..." She trailed off trying to remember everything Ranma had told her.  
  
Nabiki was starting to worry, "Uh, maybe if you told me everything that's been happening in your dreams I could understand what you're talking about."  
  
Akane sighed. It looked like Ranma wasn't going to show up tonight after all. So she began telling her sister everything that had happened since that night she had first met Ranma. Nabiki listened, becoming more and more concerned for her sister. However, as strange as it sounded, Nabiki somewhat believed that Akane's story could be true. After all, she'd just seen a boy turn into a girl and an old man turn into an endangered species. As Akane finished her tale, Nabiki realized how Akane could have mistaken the day's events as a dream. She wasn't prepared to fully believe the story without proof however. She was Nabiki after all and tended to be a skeptic at heart.  
  
"Well sis, even if I believe what you just told me, I have to say that you're not dreaming now. We have to face a very real situation at home. I don't know about you but this Ryu guy pushes all the wrong buttons. Something about him gives me the creeps."  
  
Akane nodded in agreement as she tried to think of some way to determine if she really still in the Blind. Giving up after a moment she related her dojo and bathroom experience to her sister. Nabiki frowned as Akane reached the part where Ryu offered to wash Akane's back and growled at what he'd said afterwords.  
  
Nabiki finally sighed, "Sounds like dad really picked us a winner. Starting tomorrow I'm going to find out as much as I can about the Saotomes. Maybe even some information on this Ranma guy from your dreams. In the meantime try to stay away from this guy and don't let him catch you alone. I'll give Kasumi the same warning. I just don't trust him, especially if he can beat you."  
  
Akane gulped and nodded nervously, "All right. I can't believe Daddy would engage us to a perverted rapist though."  
  
"Just be careful." Nabiki hugged her sister.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Dinner had been an interesting affair. She'd never seen anyone move that fast when it came to eating. Both Saotomes had nothing even remotely resembling table manners and fought over the food like starving rabid weasels. As the fight degenerated into a brawl over the last pickle it worked it's way outside to the pond where both cursed martial artists ended up. Akane meanwhile had finally gotten around to taking that bath she'd been looking forward to all day. She had just dried off and was making to leave when the door slid open revealing a very naked and very female Ryu. Akane stared a moment in shock then moved to slap the offending redhead for peaking on her. Ryu however caught her hand easily.  
  
"Now none of that. Such violence doesn't become a cute girl like yourself. Besides you got a good look at me earlier so I figure I deserve at least the same courtesy. Besides, there's a good chance we'll end up engaged or even married so it's only right I check out the goods." He smiled evilly, "Maybe even try them out."  
  
Akane wrenched her hand out of Ryu's grip and pushed past her, Ryu grinning the whole time. Grabbing her robe Akane quickly left to her room. Once the door was shut and locked she slid down to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane woke to a noise in her room. She sat up slowly looking around, trying to see in the darkness. Her curtains moved in a slight breeze coming in through the open window. She definitely remembered closing the window before going to sleep. Getting up to shut it she suddenly found a hand over her mouth and another around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides.  
  
"Now, now. We can't have you waking the rest of the house now can we. They need their rest." Akane heard the voice of their newest, youngest house guest say.  
  
She felt a piece of tape go across her mouth then her pajama top was ripped down to trap her arms as Ryu pushed her back onto the bed. He grinned at her as he pulled a knife to cut her bra off.  
  
"I thought I'd start with the youngest and work my way up. That Kasumi looks like she'd be a screamer don't you think?" Ryu commented.  
  
Akane twisted and struggled trying to get away but Ryu held her fast. As the knife slid between her breasts to cut the bra Ryu stopped.  
  
"Ah dammit, I canna do it." He said. Standing up Ryu stepped back with a look of sorrow on his face. "Damn yer eyes woman. I jus canna harm Ranma's woman no matter what me work orders say."  
  
Ryu seemed to blacken and melt until it resembled a humanoid shaped black tar creature.  
  
Akane pulled the tape from her mouth as she straightened her top, "Joe? Is that you?"  
  
"Aye, it be me." The nightmare confessed, "Sumtin bad musta happened to ye to get me assigned to ye agin."  
  
Akane nodded as she turned to sit on her bed, "It's horrible. I don't know what to do."  
  
"Ye care ta talk aboot it?" The creature asked.  
  
Akane sighed. Nodding hesitantly she began to tell Joe of how her day had gone ending with Ryu's veiled threats in the bathroom.  
  
"Ah, so that be why yer dream be the way it be. I apoligize m'lady, I din know it be like that." Joe was quiet a moment after that. Then he seemed to produce a cell phone from nowhere and dial a number on it. Akane couldn't make out what he was saying even though he was right next to her. After a moment he hung up and turned back to Akane.  
  
"I jes calt yer man Ranma. He saide he'd be right over ta take care o ye. Agin me 'poligies m'lady." Joe said turning and fading into the shadows.  
  
Akane sat alone in the darkness for a while before her bedroom door opened and Ranma came walking in with a concerned look on his face. Akane seemed to teleport across the intervening space to hug Ranma tightly.  
  
"Oh Ranma! It was so awful!" She broke down crying. Ranma brought her over the bed and sat down, cradling the crying girl in his arms. He let her cry herself out before asking her what was wrong. Once again she relayed the entire story this time to Ranma. His look of concern grew as did his frown as Akane finished.  
  
Finally Akane composed herself and blushing, sat up and moved away from Ranma, just a little bit.  
  
Ranma seemed to be thinking heavily. Finally he looked at her, "Akane, there is something I should tell you about myself. I'll understand if you don't want to have anything to do with me after that."  
  
Akane shook her head, "I don't care. You're my friend. You can tell me anything."  
  
Ranma hesitated for a second then took a deep breath, "That man Genma... He's my father."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Damn! Three chapters in one day! I'm just glad I don't have anything due in my Japanese class Monday :)  
  
I know that the cliffhanger isn't much of one. After all everyone knows Ranma's father is a fat lazy panda. But I do want to hold off on letting the cat out the bag for as long as possible... Of course if the suspense builds too much then everyone will get all angsty on me. I know I promised Kuno getting the crap beat out of him but oh well... We'll see how Monday morning goes between Ryu and Kuno later on. BTW: is anyone even reading the Ranma and Tenchi bits at the end of each chapter? If not then I'll stop doing it.  
  
"Are you positive?" Cliffjumper asked over the comlink.  
  
"Absolutely, We're coming back in now. Whatever attached itself to Bumblebee's face is definitely an organic siliconoid life form. Hopefully Ratchet can figure out how to get it off him. Other than these eggs, there's no sign of life anywhere in the outpost." Ironhide replied.  
  
"Get him back here on the double, there's no telling what's going on out there."  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	7. The Origin of Ranma part two

"Genma is my father." Ranma repeated.  
  
Akane sat quietly as she absorbed the information. Finally she spoke, "I knew there must have been some relation... How... I mean Ryu claimed to be an only child."  
  
"I don't know. I'll tell you what I remember of my life in the Blind. My father as you know was a martial artist. Still is I guess. I remember growing up in a beautiful house, my bedroom was upstairs. I'd play in the backyard without a care in the world. One day when I was about four I think, my father decided to start training me in martial arts, the same style you use. I guess when he saw how much potential I had he decided Anything goes style would be the main focus of my life. From what little I can remember, my mother would always be there whenever I got hurt or would sometimes yell at my father for his training methods. Finally when I was six, he convinced my mother somehow to take me on an extended training trip without her. I remember my mother crying as my father carried me out of the house and down the street." Ranma paused for a moment as if trying to get past a painful memory.  
  
Finally he took a deep breath and continued, "I think it was only a few months later that he came back to our camp one night very excited. Apparently he'd found an old training manual of so called forbidden techniques. There was one really powerful one, the Neko Ken, that he was just dying to train me in. Being the age I was, I was just as excited as he was. It was funny, the training was so simple you'd think everyone would have been learning it. Well I found out why it was a forbidden technique. You see, first you dig a large pit. Then you fill it with as many cats as you can, no less than a dozen. After keeping the cats for about a week with no food you the take the trainee, that would be me, and wrap him up in fish sausages. I think any food product that cats liked would probably have worked. Anyway, you drop the trainee into the pit and let him be mauled by cats until the trainee dies or learns the technique."  
  
Akane paled and felt like throwing up. She reached out and held Ranma's hand.  
  
"The last thing I remember of the Blind was being mauled by starving, raving cats. I've been here ever since. I don't know how long that is since time moves differently here but from what you've told me about my father I'd say it's been about ten years or so."  
  
Akane grabbed Ranma and hugged him pulling him into a comforting embrace. They stayed that way for a while just acknowledging each others support. Finally Akane moved her head back to look at Ranma. She was surprised to see a happy smile behind his sad eyes. She felt drawn to those eyes...  
  
She wasn't even sure at what point she kissed him but it was wonderful and she melted into him as she felt him respond. She'd never kissed a boy before but had always imagined what it could be like with the right one. She desperately hoped this dream world was just as real, if not more so like Ranma claimed, so she wouldn't feel foolish when she woke up.  
  
Finally, reluctantly, they broke the kiss. Ranma back away a bit with a kind of stunned look on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry Akane, I didn't mean..." he trailed off not sure what to say.  
  
Akane blushed. He thought it was his fault and that I'd be upset! She smiled a little, "It's Ok Ranma. I actually enjoyed it. It was unexpected but nice." She laid her head against his chest and felt his heartbeat and warmth. She realized she was still in her bedroom and blushed even deeper. What would her father say if he knew she was making out with a boy in her room?  
  
Then something occurred to her, "Ranma? What you said earlier, does that mean you're dead?"  
  
Ranma looked down at her and a slight frown crossed his features, "I don't know. Mother never told me."  
  
"Your mother? She's here too?" Akane asked slightly confused.  
  
"Not my original mother. When I first came here, Hathor the Egyptian goddess of dreams found me and decided to raise me as her son. She taught me everything I know about reality. I haven't been slacking off on my martial arts either as you could tell." He finished with that egotistical grin Akane had come to expect on his face.  
  
"So there's a chance you're still alive in the Blind? Maybe in a coma or something?" Akane asked.  
  
Ranma shrugged, "I suppose it's possible. I don't know any other life than this though. I don't know what I'd do if I ever went back to the blind."  
  
Akane was about to say something when her alarm clock went off. She looked at it for a second as Ranma gave her a quick hug.  
  
"Sounds like it's time for you to get up." Ranma said.  
  
"But I just went to sleep!" Akane exclaimed, not wanting to leave Ranma just yet.  
  
"I told you, time moves differently here..." Ranma's voice faded as the dreamscape collapsed.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane woke up and smashed the irritating alarm clock into little bit of plastic and circuit boards. She growled in frustration as she got out of bed to get ready for her day. By the time she had finished her workout and made her way to the furo, having made a point to ignore the two Saotome's sparring in the backyard, she had calmed down enough to go over everything she had learned.  
  
As she soaked she thought over her idea that Ranma might still be alive here in her world. Then she realized it the Genma's fault he was stuck in the dreamscape in the first place. Hopefully Nabiki would be making some inquiries and getting some more information today.  
  
Finishing her bath quicker than usual, she had no desire to run into Ryu in the furo again, she got dressed and went down to eat breakfast. Genma and Ryu were arguing over something. They always seem to be fighting ever since they arrived.  
  
"You're going to school and that's final. If anything it's to get you out of my hair during the day!" Genma was shouting.  
  
"All right fine! Just don't expect me to study or nothin. Besides, there's probably all sorts of hot looking girls to choose from." Ryu responded.  
  
Genma smacked him on the back of the head, "You'll marry a Tendo and that's final!"  
  
Ryu gave him an evil look, "Hey man, I never said I wouldn't." He turned and gave Akane a smile as she was finishing her miso soup. Akane gave a worried glance to Nabiki who gave an imperceptible shake of the head.  
  
A short time later Akane was walking with Nabiki to school together for once. Ryu walked along behind them leisurely taking in the sights, namely the rears of both Tendo girls. About halfway to school Akane heard a shout from behind her. Both her and Nabiki stopped and turned around to see Ryu chewing out some old lady.  
  
"Watch where you're throwing water you old hag. You ever nail me again I'll beat the shit out of you!" the female Ryu screamed at the senior citizen. The old lady nearly fainted but managed to quickly go back into her house.  
  
Akane frowned, wishing she could do something about this bully. Nabiki however had a sardonic smile on her face.  
  
"Oh too bad Ryu, I guess you'll have to go home and change back."  
  
Ryu looked at her and snorted, "Nah, I'll change back later. It's no big deal."  
  
Nabiki seemed to mentally snap her fingers and just shrugged, "Suit yourself. C'mon Akane, we don't want to be late." The two girls minus one extreme tomboy turned and headed on towards school.  
  
It was as they neared the gates that Akane's features began to darken. Ryu either didn't notice or didn't care. She saw the gathered boys at the gates and clenched her fists in anger. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She began working up a good head of steam and rushed the crowd as they became aware of her presence. Chanting her daily madra of 'I hate boys!', Akane plowed into the mass, sending bodies everywhere.  
  
Ryu finally seemed to notice what was happening and jumped up on the gates to get a better view.  
  
Akane backhanded the last guy with a move Ranma had shown her, "I am getting sick and tired of this. Kuno! Where are you?" She yelled.  
  
She was slightly shocked to see a disheveled Tatewaki Kuno stumble out from behind the tree he always hid behind. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and his hair was no longer the well cared for wave he usually wore.  
  
"Ah, The lovely Akane Tendo. You grace us with your presence once again." Kuno said.  
  
Ryu chose this moment to jump down and join the Tendo duo, "So who's this asshole?"  
  
"Who are you to speak to me in such a manner? But wait, is it not custom to give one's own name first? Fine, mine I shall give. I am..."  
  
"Look, nobody gives a rat's ass. You're bothering one of my girls so step off or I'll have to rough ya up." Ryu threatened.  
  
Kuno didn't know what to make of this new girl's speech. It was rough and masculine with heavy slang that hurt his sleep deprived mind. There were two options to what this girl had just said. One she was a friend and Akane and Nabiki were her girls. Two she had just proclaimed herself a lesbian and confessed to having a relationship with both girls. As tempting as it might be, Kuno went with the safer, cleaner option instead.  
  
"Ah, but you misunderstand. I mean only to invoke my daily challenge so that Akane might date me once she is defeated." Kuno explained.  
  
Ryu nodded, "I thought it was something like that. Too bad for you. It means I have to teach you not to mess with what's mine." She cracked her knuckles.  
  
Akane and Nabiki were slowly fuming and Akane had to be restrained by her sister before she did something she'd regret.  
  
Kuno however took this the completely wrong way, "If you wish to date me you should have just asked. I will however answer your challenge and if you should happen to defeat me then I shall date with you."  
  
Ryu's face was turning various colors of disgust, "Look asswipe, just because I have the body of a girl right now doesn't mean I'm a fag got it? Come on lets do this."  
  
Akane threw her hands up in exasperation and grabbed Nabiki's arm. Together they both ran inside while the two big martial artists had their testosterone levels measured. Once inside, the girls split up heading for their respective classes. Nabiki immediately went to the window where her henchmen were and caught up to speed on the current betting. No one was sure just who the new challenger but the odds were currently against her. Nabiki silently sighed in relief that after today she'd have enough money to keep the dojo in black even with the addition of two new guests.  
  
Akane forced her way through the students and reached the window. She watched in silent horror as Ryu and Kuno fought. She found to her distaste, that she was rooting for Kuno to win. It wasn't looking very good at the moment though. Ryu was obviously playing with Kuno. Kuno himself wasn't going all out because he was reluctant to hit a girl. After jumping around and avoiding Kuno's blows, Ryu seemed to get bored and quickly moved in for the kill. She grabbed the boken from Kuno's grip as if he'd been handing it to her. A quick punch to the stomach forced the air from Kuno's lungs. Kuno went down to his knees.  
  
Ryu stood in front of Kuno with the boken on her shoulder, "You're not bad for a beginner you know. Another hundred years of training and you might just make me break a sweat. Now, for attacking me, you need to be punished. Hmm, how about we keep you from using this little toy for a while eh?" She gestured to the boken in her hand. With a cruel smile she brought the practice sword down on Kuno's right arm with a loud crack. Kuno collapsed completely grasping his broken wrist. Ryu huffed before dropping the boken on the ground and kicking Kuno's head driving him unconscious.  
  
Shrugging to herself, Ryu turned and walked into the school.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
So far everyone hates Ryu. Good, that's exactly what you should feel about him. A little back story on my version of Ryu. I'd like to think of this as a whole Nature versus Nurture example. In the manga, Ranma is basically a good kid who's had a terrible upbringing. From poverty and homelessness to child abuse, the fact Ranma is the way he is should be nothing short of a damn miracle. Ryu however, seemed to have a stable home life in the manga. Until his father's dojo was destroyed because of his father using one of Genma's secret techniques. He may have been poor but he had a much better upbringing than Ranma. Yet Ryu acted like a real jerk, even going so far as to threaten Ranma's mother to Ranma in exchange for the other half of the Saotome forbidden techniques. Now let's reverse the roles, Ryu being a jerk at heart being raised by a slime like Genma. Ouch. You can see how he could be the way he is.  
  
And Finally, we now know how Ranma ended up leaving the blind. But that leaves more questions than were answered. Is Ranma still alive? Why is Genma engaging Ryu to the Tendo's? Why is Ryu a Saotome? Are Ryouga, Shampoo and Ukyou even going to show up in this fic? That my friends... is a secret!  
  
"So it's true then?" Captain Gloval asked.  
  
"Unfortunately yes. The Borg are somehow using their own drones to gestate the alien creatures the Transformers encountered." Picard responded from his place at the conference table.  
  
Ranma sat back and sighed in frustration, "Damn it! It just keeps getting better and better. There's got to be something we can do to stop these bastards."  
  
Picard frowned at Ranma's language, "The Borg's ability to adapt is quite formidable I admit but we will find a weakness I'm sure of it."  
  
"Fine, let me know when you have a plan. I'm gonna go talk to Washu, maybe she has something already." Ranma swung his feet off the table and passed Luke as he left the conference room.  
  
"I'll go with him." Young Skywalker volunteered.  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	8. Truth Lies and Seppuku Contracts

She spooned another portion of apple sauce into his mouth. Smiling as he took the food and eventually swallowed it she brought up a cup of milk with a straw and put it to his lips. Getting him to use a straw had been difficult but worth it. She gave him the last spoonful of applesauce and let him finish the milk.  
  
"Very good son." She said. She didn't know if he could hear her or not but she liked to think he could. "It's time for your bath now. Come along, who's momma's manly boy?" She led the unresponsive male down the short hallway to the furo.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane sat through her math class barely able to pay attention. There had been a lot of speculation among the other students when she had refused to answer any questions about her new house guest. She listened in on the gossip nearby. She wondered if anyone realized she could hear them talking or if they even cared. She sank a little lower as the lesbian lover rumor passed by again. She hoped to the Kami that Nabiki had a backup plan for this disaster that was quickly becoming her life. She overheard Hiroshi or was that Daisuke? She could never remember which was which. He was saying how Ryu was sleeping with all the Tendo daughters and how he had heard from a reliable source that they had orgies every night.  
  
She banged her head on her desk until the teacher sent her to the hall. Her life was officially hell. Her only respite was that Ryu had somehow been assigned another class.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nabiki looked worriedly at Kuno's empty desk in front of her. She knew Kuno tended to hold back in his fights with Akane so she had silently hoped the kendoist would make short work of Ryu. Having him arrive at school as a her not a him seriously screwed that plan. Kuno of course held back against a girl and got his ass handed to him. Watching the fight though, she realized Ryu probably would have won even as a guy. She had done what she could though and made sure Ryu had been assigned to a class other than Akane's or hers. She wasn't sure just how old Ryu was so decided to play it safe and cover her bets.  
  
She would have her hands full at lunch. Of that she was sure. Between rumor control and sending out her minions (she always loved that word) to research the Saotome family she wondered if she'd even get a chance to eat.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
"So you see, it's just a weird Chinese curse, OK?" Ryu demonstrated again. "I was born a guy, raised a guy, and even though I change into a girl's body, I'm still a guy. Got it? Cause if any of you go hittin' on my girl side, unless you're a chick, Not only will I bust you up like I did Kuno, I'll tell everyone at school here that you're a fag for hittin' on a guy."  
  
The teacher gulped nervously, "Ah, thank you for that introduction Saotome- san. I'm sure everyone here will do their best to make you feel welcome." He gestured nervously to an empty seat, "Have a seat and we'll start the day's lesson."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nabiki sighed as she entered her room and closed the door behind her. It had been one of the most exhausting days of her life. Once it had gotten out about Ryu's curse the school had had a field day with the rumors of various sexual exploits and orgies that had supposedly occurred. There had even been rumors of a white slavery ring and bets being placed (outside Nabiki's circle) on which girls were also cursed like Ryu. Nabiki had sold the official version of what had happened (if she'd told it for free people weren't as likely to believe it). She explained that, yes there was a standing agreement for one of the Tendo daughters to marry Ryu, no there had been no decision made on who yet. There were no wild orgies or other sexual activities other than what Ryu did by himself. Nabiki had to phrase the last the way she did when Ryu admitted that women had better orgasms than men. Through the official version the more wild rumors died out leaving things at a more manageable level. She had sent out her minions to the library, the internet and anywhere that they had their particular talent for information gathering.  
  
The thick folder of papers she dropped on her desk was the result of calling in almost all her favors from people working for the city, the police and other government agencies. Her level of control in Nerima had dropped as a result but she believed her family was worth it.  
  
As she sat down to go through everything, there was a knock at the door. Quickly hiding everything in the false bottom of her desk drawer she got up to answer the door.  
  
"Who is it?" She asked.  
  
"It's me sis." Akane answered.  
  
Nabiki unlocked the door and let her sister in, closing and locking the door behind her.  
  
"Did you find anything?" Akane asked nervously.  
  
"I was just about to look. I have a lot of things to go through, it would go quicker with some help though."  
  
Agreeing, the two girls sat down and began to go through the mass of papers together.  
  
After about fifteen minutes things had settled into two main stacks of papers, police reports or arrest warrants, and unpaid bills. Akane came to a photocopy of a government document and looked at it curiously.  
  
"Hey Nabiki, look at this. These are divorce papers." She handed the papers to Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki scanned the document as Akane continued sorting. "According to this, one Nadoka Saotome divorced Genma Saotome and removed his name from the family register. Damn! That means she was the clan head! You know what this means Akane!?" she exclaimed. "Akane?"  
  
Akane however was staring pale and wide eyed at the news clipping in her hands. The headlines read, "Boy Remains Catatonic After Being Mauled By Cats. Father Being Held For Child Abuse."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
The woman sighed tiredly. Another long day behind her, it was time to prepare dinner. She entered the small apartment and saw her son sitting exactly where she had left him in front of the television. She reflected back on her decision to sell her house and combine her inheritance from her father to buy this maison. She was able to live comfortably on the rent she collected from the other tenants as long as she could still do all the maintenance. It also allowed her to take care of her son without resorting to paying expensive at home nurses to be here while she worked. It wasn't much but it was all she had anymore. For the millionth time she wished her son would look at her and smile the way he used to as a child. Damn her for giving in to that bastard. Her life hadn't been perfect before but it was something she had cherished.  
  
She went over and checked her son. She wrinkled her nose as she got close. He needed to be changed again. Damn it! Her son was sixteen years old! He should be out with his friends or dating pretty girls, not sitting staring at nothing and crapping his diaper. Standing her son up she led him towards the bathroom thinking once again that she should have done more than just divorce that bastard Genma.  
  
As they went down the hall they passed a framed piece of paper. On it was some almost impossible to read script signed by one Genma Saotome and smeared with the hand prints of one Ranma Saotome.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Yup, it's a little shorter than usual for a chapter but I felt it said what needed to be said and I do have another assignment due tomorrow that I haven't started yet. Besides, it's getting closer to the end and I figure no more than four or five chapters will complete this story (We'll see). I would also like to say I'm not against homosexuals, that was Ryu. Hate the character not the author. So no hate mail on that subject please. I also apologize for making the catatonic boy's situation as realistic as I did but I wanted to emphasize certain things for the emotional impact.  
  
Ranma entered the dark recesses of Washu's lair. Ignoring some of the larger intricate pieces of machinery he eventually found what he was looking for. Washu was currently bent over some piece of confiscated Borg technology ignoring the pleading sounds coming from the half naked Tenchi being suspended by metallic tentacles.  
  
"Hey Tenchi." Ranma half waved as Tenchi blink blinked at him. "Washu? You got a minute?"  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	9. Caught in the Dream Catcher

Kasumi stepped onto the upstairs landing and looked around. It was time to start dinner and she wanted to ask her sisters if there was anything special they wanted her to fix. Looking around, she wondered where her sisters had disappeared to, not having seen them since they returned home. Frankly, she was a little worried, she was alone by herself and Ryu was due home any time now as her sisters had been home somewhere for about an hour already. She went to the closest door, Nabiki's, and knocked. There was a quick, "Who is it?" from inside. Akane's voice.  
  
Kasumi wondered what she was doing in Nabiki's room as she answered, "It's Kasumi, I just wanted to know what you wanted for dinner."  
  
There was a sound of movement and the door unlocked. A hand reached out and grabbed Kasumi, pulling her in before she could say 'Oh My!' The door closed and locked behind her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ryu wandered along a deserted road taking his time walking home. He was thinking how things had changed since he first met the man he called Pops. It couldn't have been more than seven years ago that Genma came into his father's dojo offering to trade techniques for room and board. He remembered his father being very excited about Yamiseken and soon after Genma left, the older man had begun to practice in earnest. Unfortunately, the dojo wasn't as stable as it was years ago due to the lack of income. Ryu's father wasn't the best of sensei and the gradual decline of students had worked it's toll on the family's earnings. Needless to say, the dojo collapsed on Ryu's father. His last words to Ryu were to find Genma and train until he could run a proper dojo.  
  
It was only three weeks later that Ryu found Genma in a small jail in Hokkaido. In exchange for breaking him out of prison, Genma promised to take Ryu on as his heir. So began their training journey that eventually ended at Jusenkyou. Well, it didn't quite end there, that purple haired bimbo was still after him. Too bad, she had such a nice body. Thinking along those lines brought him around to his current dilemma.  
  
He was engaged to three good looking women. Well, only one of them but there had been no decision on which one. The big question was how to get each of them to 'give it up' without too much trouble. Sure he was strong enough to force them if he wanted but there was no pleasure in just taking a woman like that. It was nice when a woman responded to what you did to them, made the whole sexual experience more intense when both partners cooperated. Rape was for someone who wanted to feel empowered. Ryu knew he was powerful and didn't have to flaunt it, not too much anyway.  
  
He saw the dojo in the distance and started making plans as he approached his new home.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
To say Kasumi was stunned was a bit of an understatement. However she showed nothing more than her calm outer expression, with maybe a little bit more happiness in her smile.  
  
"So what you're saying is..." she began.  
  
"We don't have to marry Ryu. He's not a Saotome." Nabiki said, handing the relevant papers to her older sister.  
  
"So the boy who one of us is supposed to marry, if the arrangement is even still valid..." Kasumi probed tentatively. She wanted to make sure she wasn't misinterpreting anything.  
  
"Ranma Saotome. He's been catatonic since he was six years old. Akane however has been seeing and talking to him in her dreams for about two weeks now." Nabiki replied.  
  
Kasumi frowned in thought, something that would have sent her father into hysterics if he'd been there, "Are you sure it's really him and not some sort of dream or hallucination? Maybe you overheard father talking about him recently and made it up in your mind... you have been having weird dreams ever since Kuno made his proclamation."  
  
Akane nodded, "I thought so at first. I still have a few doubts but I'm going to check out a few things that will hopefully make things clear. The big question is, how do we get rid of Genma and Ryu?"  
  
Nabiki rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "It will have to be done subtly. If there's any evidence we are behind anything then there could be dangerous repercussions. Letting the law know they're here is a must but it must seem like it came from someone else."  
  
"Ok, you start working that angle Nabs. Kasumi, you should see if daddy knows anything about Ranma or the neko-ken. If not, that should count as evidence in Ranma's existence." Akane said tapping her head for emphasis.  
  
"So what are you going to do?" Nabiki asked already having an idea of what her sister had in mind.  
  
Akane blushed in a way her sisters knew she usually saved for a certain doctor, "I'm going to visit Ms. Saotome and see Ranma."  
  
"Good. However, I don't think you should mention anything about dream worlds or the fact that Genma and Ryu are here just yet. Maybe just mention that daddy told us about an engagement and we looked her up on our own."  
  
Akane agreed and the three Tendo sisters quickly began planning to take back their lives.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ryu ate his dinner a little slower than usual. He kept looking at the three girls spread around the table. They kept giving each other knowing glances and Akane smirked every time she looked his way. He didn't even care when the last of his food had been stolen by his 'father'.  
  
'I'm such a stud.' He mentally patted himself on the back for being such a chick magnet.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma was practicing a kata when a rift in space opened and Akane walked in. Deciding it would be a good time for a break, he settled into a ready position, then bowed to the small shrine in the dojo. Grabbing a towel from nowhere, Ranma walked over to Akane.  
  
"You're getting pretty good a traveling around the dream realm." Ranma praised.  
  
Akane blushed, "Thank you. It's only because you helped me."  
  
Ranma gestured to a bench that wasn't there before and the two sat down, "So what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"  
  
Akane fidgeted a little, "I... I found something out today after school. It concerns you and all the other stuff that's been going on in my life."  
  
Ranma remained quiet yet nodded for her to continue.  
  
"First off, Ryu is not a Saotome. That's because your mother divorced Genma after the incident with the cats. Your mother was a Saotome, not your father."  
  
Ranma took a moment to let that sink in, "So what happened to me? Did you find out?"  
  
Akane nodded, tears in her eyes, "You've been catatonic ever since you were six. It was in a newspaper article. The doctors said they couldn't find anything wrong with you. You just wouldn't wake up from your trancelike state."  
  
"And he never will if I have anything to say about it." A voice said.  
  
Akane looked around in shock, trying to find the voice's owner. She gasped when she saw a tall dark skinned woman in golden robes fade into existence.  
  
"Mother, what are you doing here?" Ranma asked. Akane gasped. This was the goddess Ranma had spoken about. The one who had raised him.  
  
"You know perfectly well why I'm here. You were warned about continued contact with this girl yet you continue to defy me. The council has heard of this as well as this young lady's corruption of a nightmare. Something I believe you helped bring about." The goddess of dreams said.  
  
Something clicked in Akane, "You did this didn't you?" The goddess looked at Akane with a blank stare.  
  
"You did something to keep Ranma from waking up didn't you?" She almost shouted.  
  
The goddess sighed, her earlier superior aura fading, "He was dying. I had to do something anything to keep that bastard from killing such an innocent child. When Ranma went unconscious that final time, I placed a block to keep him from waking up. Otherwise he would have kept throwing by son into the pit until he died. Don't you see? I saved his life!"  
  
Akane wasn't finished. Her anger was manageable these days thanks to Ranma's influence, but she was still Akane Tendo. "Then why do you still keep him here? Why not let him return to the Blind and live like normal people?"  
  
The goddess actually flinched from the force of Akane's accusations, "I was going to... but I... it had been so long since I had children to care for. I thought I'd care for him a few days. But the days turned to weeks, then months, then years. It is too late now. He could never live a normal life if he were to awaken now."  
  
"M...mother? Is it true? All of it?" Ranma asked quietly. Seeing Hathor's tear streaked face nod confirmed it.  
  
Hathor drew herself up straight again and her face hardened, "I'm sorry son for what I have to do. Remember this next time you want to bring someone in from the Blind." She turned from Ranma to face Akane.  
  
"Akane Tendo, the council of dreams has convened and found you to be a threat to the sanctity of our world. I'm sorry, but I must exile you from the Dreaming forever." She waved her hand and Akane disappeared with a look of shock on her face.  
  
"What did you do Mother?" Ranma yelled.  
  
"She's cut off from the dreaming. She can no longer enter our realm." Hathor said sadly.  
  
"But if she can't dream she'll die!" Ranma was frantic. The girl he lo... liked a lot had just been given a long lingering death sentence. She'd slowly go mad from the inability to dream off her excess emotional energy every night.  
  
Ranma got up, "Damn you mother! And damn the council!" He turned and ran out of the dojo.  
  
"I'm sorry son. I tried to warn you..." she said softly as he disappeared from sight.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Well, it's been about a week since my last update. Hopefully no one's forgotten about me. It's been busy here, what with tests and sculpture projects being due. Sadly, I know where I want this fic to go but I'm having a bit of trouble getting it to go there. I've found in the past that if you force the writing then it reads forced and comes off lacking somehow. There may be a little longer lag as these final chapters come out due to me kicking ideas around till they make sense. As for Akane's plight? Hell if I know. I swear sometimes I don't know what's going to happen until after I write it. Oh, and as for the few of you who inquired, no 'Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure' is not a real fic. I came up with the idea a few months back and tried miserably to flesh it out into something I could write. I originally wanted a fic that would make Gregg Sharp or Skysaber jealous. I mean, just the shear number of series and movies involved would have put any of their works to shame. But the more I thought about it the more I realized it wouldn't work. Other than certain scenes being cool for the whole crossover factor there was no real plot or anything beyond the 'big bad evil is taking over so let's get forces from all over to unite and smite said evil' story. It's been done to death and I'd like to try to do some things originally. (Considering I'm writing using someone else's characters I'm not off to a good start)  
  
Anyway, if I can get this fic finished, I plan on finishing or at least continuing, Ahh! My Akane, Four Years, and Ranko's Curse. Oh and Element of Shadows...  
  
Future fics I have plans for are a Ranma/project Ako story, a Ranma/wellworld story/trilogy?, and a couple of Alternate Universe Ranma stories. *sigh* too many story ideas and not enough time to write.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * A man woke having dreamt he was a butterfly. He was concerned, was he a man dreaming he was a butterfly or being awake, was he a butterfly dreaming he was a man?  
  
In the end, does it matter? Dreams are indistinguishable from memories so are they any less true? 


	10. Exiles

Akane shot up from her bed. Looking around, she realized she was awake. A cold chill ran down her back as she realized the gravity of what had just occurred to her. She'd been banished from the Dreaming, from what she'd learned from Ranma, that was a death sentence. Refusing to panic, she resolved to find everything she could on the subject to see if there was something she could do about it.  
  
Getting out of bed she realized it wasn't even five o'clock yet. Deciding to make the best of it she changed into her gi and went downstairs to start her morning workout. She had a full day ahead of her and she wanted to take the time to plan it out and exercise always helped her focus.  
  
It was almost two hours later that Akane came into the house from the dojo, toweling the sweat from her face. She went up to her room and returned with her bath supplies. Nabiki was coming out of her room at the same time as Akane so she decided to ask her sister a favor.  
  
"Nabiki, could you tell the school I'm sick today? I have a few things I need to do today, one of them visiting the Saotomes."  
  
Nabiki frowned sleepily. She hated getting up before nine o'clock and was usually incoherent until she'd had her morning bath.  
  
"Uh, sure. Where are you going besides that?" Nabiki's curious nature kicking in even in her half asleep state.  
  
"I have some research to do at the library today." Akane said as she rushed downstairs.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma sat and nursed his drink at the bar. It was his first drink. Actually it was the only drink he needed. As it emptied, he willed it to fill again. He wasn't drunk, couldn't get drunk off it actually. Unless he wanted to that is. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted just yet. He'd grown up being told that the Dreaming was the ultimate reality. The Blind was ephemeral, transitory, static. Here he could have or be anything he wanted. That was what his mother, no... that was what Hathor had always told him. Now all he wanted to do was see Akane and that was no longer possible. He sank a little lower on the stool in his depression.  
  
"Aye see the lass hes alraidy bin fund gilty." A voice said to Ranma's right.  
  
Ranma turned and saw the black tar of Joe sitting next to him, "She's gone Joe. They killed her and it's my fault!"  
  
"Et! She be not ded yet boy. 'Sides, it be partly me own fault as well." Joe turned and ordered a drink then paid for it with some golden coins, "Used to be we din worry 'bout tings like quotas and schedules. Ta council be there for the Dreamin' no be otter way 'round."  
  
Ranma gave Joe a puzzled look. Joe downed his drink and left a tip.  
  
"Used ta be much more freedom in tha Dreamin'. Wasn't alwaes agaen the rules ta visit. Many wizards be comin' her before. Many Shamans, an others. An not just dreamin', they be doin' business wit ta people here. Council, it change over time. Become dark, self servin'. Yur not alon' in wantin' justice. Come, we go see me mates and discuss it over a round?"  
  
Ranma stood up, hope once again in his eyes, "All right Joe. Let's do it. By the way, you need to work on your accent, it's getting so I can't tell if you're Irish, Jamaican, or Cajun these days."  
  
Joe bubbled in silent indignation as they left the bar.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nodoka was replacing a piece of siding on the maison when she noticed footsteps of someone approaching. She looked up to see a young girl with long dark hair wearing a rather plain yellow dress coming up the walk. "May I help you?" she asked, wiping sweat from her forehead.  
  
"Yes, I'm looking for Nodoka Saotome." The girl replied.  
  
"Oh, are you here about the vacancy?" Nodoka inquired.  
  
"Uh, no... do you... do you have a son named Ranma?" The girl hesitantly asked.  
  
Nodoka sighed, "I don't know what Genma took in exchange for engaging you to my son. He hasn't had the authority to do that in over ten years. Like I told the Kuonji girl the other day, I divorced the man after what he did to my son. If there's a problem I can give you my lawyer's number."  
  
The girl shook her head, "No, it not about an engagement, kind of... that is, well..." She hesitated, then thought of something, "I'm sorry, my name is Tendo Akane."  
  
Nodoka was shocked, "Kimiko's daughter? Little A-chan? Why I haven't seen you since the funeral... Oh, I'm sorry."  
  
Akane shook her head again, "It's all right Saotome-san. It was a long time ago. You knew me though? I don't quite remember..."  
  
"I'm not surprised, it was shortly after the funeral and my own son's misfortunes that I stopped visiting. I'm sorry for not being there for you girls but Ranma has been a handful by himself."  
  
"I read an old newspaper article about Ranma's condition. That and some other things prompted me to find you Saotome-san. Would it be ok for me to see Ranma?" Akane inquired.  
  
"Please call me Auntie and yes, I believe Ranma could use some company. Would you like some tea?" Nodoka offered.  
  
Akane remembered, "You were Auntie No-chan! I remember now! Oh my! I remember Ranma too!"  
  
Nodoka smiled, "You two used to play all the time. You fought almost as much too. Your mother and I had such hopes for you two. That's why we agreed to engage you two back then. Unfortunately I must cancel that agreement due to Ranma's condition." Nodoka lost the smile.  
  
Akane stood at the door to Nodoka's apartment in shock. I was engaged to Ranma? And by his mother?  
  
"Come in please. Ranma, we have company. It's Akane, you remember A-chan don't you?" Nodoka said to the boy who was sitting staring at nothing.  
  
Akane moved to look at the boy. He was a little skinnier and less muscled that she was used to. His hair was long and unbraided and he wore a plain white shirt and sweats. The eyes were as Blue as Akane remembered from the Dreaming but there was no life behind them. She sank to her knees and grabbed Ranma in a hug, tears flowing down her face.  
  
"Oh Ranma! It really is you! You're here and you're real!" Akane cried before breaking down in tears.  
  
Nodoka turned from going to the kitchen to see Akane collapse against Ranma. What shocked her most was Ranma's hand resting on Akane's back.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma stumbled and seemed to fade to translucent for a second before returning to normal.  
  
"What the hell was that?" He asked.  
  
Joe seemed to turn to him, "Hmm, it seem ta be yer link to da Dreamin weakened fer a moment."  
  
"You mean I almost woke up?"  
  
Joe shrugged, "Din know. Could bein 'cause we close ta da edge o' da Dreamin." He pointed to the swirling mass of dark clouds in the distance, "It be Chaos dere. Don worry, we almost dere."  
  
Ranma shook his head at Joe's shifting accent and followed the humanoid tarpit to a seedy looking bar in a place only Nightmares usually frequented. This was a dangerous place and even Ranma avoided it when at all possible. There were things here that could rip your soul and gnaw on the pieces for eternity. The cute girl in the pink dress with the Goldilocks hair licking a huge sucker was a prime example.  
  
She stood by the door eyeing Ranma warily, "What are you thinking Joe, bringing the son of Hathor here of all places?"  
  
"He jus lost 'is girl. She be exiled from da Dreamin'. He be lookin fer help. I tell him where ta fin it." Joe replied.  
  
The overly kawaii girl's expression softened, "Oh my! My condolences son of Hathor."  
  
"Just Ranma please." He replied trying to suppress the urge to run from the overwhelming sense of cuteness.  
  
The girl nodded cutely, "Zeke's inside, he's the one who might be able to help you."  
  
Ranma bowed, "Thank you miss."  
  
"Tee hee, just call me Shirley." The girl responded, well... cutely.  
  
Ranma shuddered as he and Joe entered the bar.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane sat next to Ranma across from Nodoka. They were each nursing a cup of tea. Akane was trying to figure out how to broach the subject of everything happening at home and her meeting Ranma in the Dreaming. Nodoka was still wondering over Ranma's apparent reaction to Akane.  
  
"Auntie?" Akane began. Seeing the woman nod, she continued, "There are some things I want to tell you about Ranma and your ex-husband. They may seem bizarre or even crazy but they are all true. I can prove most of it I think if I have to but please listen to what I have to say."  
  
Nodoka listened to the tone in Akane's voice, it was almost pleading and full of pain. She sighed and put down her cup, "Don't be afraid child, you invoked a reaction from my son. Something that hasn't happened in ten years. If what you have to say can possibly explain that then I will listen."  
  
"Well," Akane began hesitantly, "It all began a few days ago when I started having these weird dreams."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
My God! He wrote another chapter! Yeah well, what can I say, I've been busy. It's springtime, it's sunny and warm... So depressing. Anyway, with only four weeks of school left it's been crunch time to get all my sculpture projects completed not to mention I have three Japanese projects to finish as well. Frankly I'm surprised I was able to write anything at all.  
  
Things are starting to come together now. Next Chapter we'll deal with Hathor and the mysterious Council of Dreams, Ranma meets Zeke, and Nodoka decides what to do with the knowledge of Genma's whereabouts.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Washu held up a CD enclosed in a block of Crystal, "This is probably the only thing that can save us now."  
  
Kiyone shrieked, Mihoshi blubbered, and Ryoko looked impressed.  
  
"NO! Not Microsoft/AOL/Time/Warner's Windows 1138?! Washu you fool! You'll destroy us all!" Ayeka screamed.  
  
"All we have to do is plug this baby into any Borg terminal and it'll crash the entire Borg operating system" Washu explained.  
  
"If it gets into the Ultranet it could destroy civilizations across the multiverse. You might as well let the Borg assimilate everything, at least then it would still be in one piece." Optimus Prime said.  
  
Picard was curious, "What exactly does it do?"  
  
Washu had somehow changed clothes to a teacher's uniform, "On a small backwater reality a tragic merger of companies occurred. When Microsoft merged with AOL/Time/Warner to form a Mega Corporation they decided to produce a new version of Windows operating system to commemorate the event. Using the best Artificial Intelligence combined with Nanotech engineering they created an operating system that not only installed itself, it would upgrade your hardware as well using the nanites found on every CD. Sounds great but that was before problems started. It was one of the most buggy, unstable programs ever written. It had a habit of shutting down vital components in systems in order to upgrade them, sometimes it would install the wrong components or be unable to fully integrate upgraded components back into the system. On a little personal computer that wasn't so bad, on computers that ran power grids or automatic pilots on planes or coolant systems on Nuclear reactors that could be dangerous and even fatal. Unfortunately, the worst part was, if you had access to any network, 1138 would literally invade and infect other systems. The homeworld where the program was created was discovered to be a burnt out wasteland littered with millions of free one thousand minutes 1138 CDs. It wasn't until five more worlds suffered the same fate that the cause was found and contained. 1138 was found to be such a diabolical weapon that every race and government has agreed to never use it. If it was to get into the Ultranet which spans an almost infinite number of worlds across all realities the multiverse would cease to exist as we know it."  
  
"Ahh, I see..." Picard gulped nervously.  
  
-excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	11. Layers of Deceit

Ryu walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich that would have made Dagwood proud when he felt a cold chill down his back, as if someone had just stepped on his grave. Turning towards his 'Pop' he realized he felt it too.  
  
"What the hell was that Pop?" Ryu exclaimed.  
  
The melanoleuca enabled man looked up from his game of go with hesitant smile, "Uh, maybe we should think about going on a training trip."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane was surprised anyone could manifest a visible battle aura like that. She had just reached the part of her story where Genma and Soun had railroaded the girls into an engagement with Ryu and Akane was detailing her experience in the furo about Ryu's comments.  
  
"A-auntie? Are you all right?", Akane hesitantly asked.  
  
Nodoka seemed to visibly pull herself together and her aura died down. She opened her eyes and looked at Akane, "I'm sorry dear, it just seems Genma is up to his old tricks again. And I'm sorry to say, your father may be involved as well."  
  
"Huh? My father? What do you mean?" A puzzled Akane asked.  
  
"Later, first I want you to finish telling me about my son. What you've told me so far is almost unbelievable yet I have seen many things in my life that defy rational explanation. Please continue." Nodoka pressed.  
  
Akane nodded and continued starting with her nightmare about Ryu and Ranma coming to comfort her. When she got to the part where Ranma kissed her she blushed and cast a glance to Ranma wondering if he could hear her.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma was suddenly struck with the memory of his and Akane's first kiss. He sighed happily in the private booth he and Joe shared. They were waiting for Joe's contact, Zeke, to arrive and Ranma had been getting bored.  
  
Ranma was shook out of his reverie when something sat down across from him in the booth. He looked up to see a very attractive woman somewhat resembling Marilyn Monroe, except for the full beard and lobster claws instead of hands. The fact she was smoking a huge cigar completely shattered the remaining image of femininity. Ranma, having lived in the Dreaming for so long wasn't fazed in the slightest.  
  
"Alo' Zeke. I dun brin' the wee lad lik ye esked." Joe burbled.  
  
"You did good Joe. Good, very good job." Zeke replied in a very deep voice that reminded Ranma of Mr. T. "Yo, I'm Zeke. I'm here to offer my help in exchange for your help."  
  
Ranma nodded, a little reluctant to shake hands, er, claws with Zeke, "Joe told me you could do something about Akane's exile."  
  
Zeke puffed on the cigar in a manly way before speaking, "We have ways o' sneaking people in from the blind outside a' official channels. However it would only be a temp fix at best."  
  
"I understand. I assume you want my help in overthrowing the council or something along those lines." Ranma replied.  
  
"Almost but not quite. We found evidence that Sandman and Morpheus have been slowly consolidating power over the council for eons. Your mother is one of the last of a few holdouts. We believe these two are planning a coup soon which places the remaining uninfluenced members at risk. For now, we just want you to stay close to Hathor and let us know of any strange visitors or meetings." Zeke raised an eyebrow before leaning in close, "Believe it or not boy, we are an underground organization dedicated to preserving the Council of Dreams. If it falls then the Dreaming will become a place of nightmares. No offense Joe."  
  
The ambulatory oil spot shrugged.  
  
Ranma frowned as he weighed his options, "All right, on one condition will I help you. When Akane is here, I need to be with her."  
  
Zeke sat back as a full blown belly laugh escaped his dainty throat, "Oh boy do you have it bad. It won't be a problem at all boy. I pity the fool that get's between a man an' his girl."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hathor walked the hallsof her palace deep in thought. Something was not right here but she couldn't tell what it might be. When the council had met to decide what to do about the Tendo girl the response for exile had been overwhelming. This puzzled her, she knew the Dreaming had become more isolationist as the Blind became more 'civilized' but exile had always been reserved for the most terrible of crimes. The fact her son Ranma was here showed that outsiders were still allowed.  
  
She became aware of a presence approaching and turned to see Morpheus coming down the main hall looking for her. She sighed to herself. Morpheus was one of the more fanatical isolationists. His view was that the Blind was nothing more than an energy source. Any interaction should be limited to the dreams of the mortals. If he was allowed his way then the City of Dreams would become an ordered and static place with none of the delightful chaos that seeped in from mortal minds.  
  
As the ancient god of sleep approached Hathor cleared her throat, "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit Morpheus?"  
  
It was hard to tell if the god was smiling or not because of the heavy dark cloak obscuring all his features but Hathor suspected he was.  
  
"I merely stopped by to see if you had carried out the sentence on the mortal girl." His voice came as a dry whisper.  
  
Hathor frowned, "I have. My son was greatly upset over it. I still feel the council overreacted and overstepped the bounds of justice. I will bring this up and the next meeting, and again until this is dealt with satisfactorily."  
  
"As you will my lady, I have a meeting I must attend." Morpheus turned and seemed to flow out of the building.  
  
What are you up to Morpheus? She thought about what to do. She could defy the council and bring the girl back into the Dreaming without their knowledge. Doing so could cost her what little power she had left in the control of the realm. Her allies were few and far between these days.  
  
"At what point did my life become so embroiled in politics?" She muttered as she went to tend her garden.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nodoka had been quiet the entire time Akane told her story, her face carrying a passive expression.  
  
".and that's when I decided to come here." the Tendo girl finished.  
  
"Amazing!" Nodoka finally said, "For so much to occur in one week... Something big must be on the horizon."  
  
The Saotome matriarch stood up and went over to a small shelf on the wall. There was a small shrine with all the usual accessories, incense, prayer beads, etc. Nodoka picked up a small box that was sealed tight with many paper wards written in some language Akane didn't understand. She picked it up and examined it as if searching it would provide her the words she wanted to convey.  
  
"When the doctors failed to find any reason for Ranma's condition, I started looking for spiritual answers. I went to many different shrines and temples in an effort to find a solution. Finally, I was told of a sacred tree that was known to heal people of curses and diseases. My son and I traveled to the Masaki shrine to talk to the head priest, Kastuhito. After three days of examination and meditation, I was told that Ranma's soul was being held somewhere by a great power, greater than he was able to release. However, he told me that whoever had taken him was not malevolent and that if I could ever find the name of the being that took my son's soul I could make a request with this." She held out the small box.  
  
"This is a fruit off the sacred tree. I am only allowed one use so I have kept it all these years trying to find the name of that which you have just provided me." She sat back down and placed the box on the table. She seemed to hesitate as if working up the nerve to open the box. Finally, taking a deep breath, she broke the seals on the box. She was worried that after all these years it wouldn't work, or the magic had worn off. Opening the box she looked inside and let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Sitting on a soft pad in the bottom of the box was a oval shaped green fruit similar to a kiwi only smooth skinned. Nodoka pulled out a folded piece of paper tucked into the side and opened it to read.  
  
Akane sat still as possible, lost in thought. Would Ranma wake up? Hathor had seemed reluctant to let him go. Would Nodoka's message be enough to sway the goddess? What would Ranma think of the real world Akane? Would he like her? Another thought occurred, would Nodoka force the engagement between her and Ranma? Would she mind? Akane blushed on the last thought.  
  
Nodoka finally set the paper aside an placed both hands on either side of the fruit. She closed her eyes and muttered a silent prayer. After a moment the fruit lit up with a blue glow that was easily noticeable in the dimly lit room. A few minutes passed and the glow faded. The fruit turned brown and quickly began to rot until there was nothing left but dust.  
  
Nodoka looked at Ranma with hope, "All we can do now is wait, and hope Hathor will heed the words of a heartbroken mother."  
  
Nodoka got up and went back towards the shrine. She reached up and grabbed a wrapped bundle off some hooks above it and turned to Akane, "Let's go deal with my ex-husband before he cheats you and your sisters out of you inheritance."  
  
"Inheritance? What do you mean Auntie?" Akane asked.  
  
"I'll explain on the way. First I need to talk to my neighbor, she sometimes watches my son when I have to run errands. Wait here, I'll be right back."  
  
Akane turned to look at Ranma once Nodoka had left. He was still staring off into space. Once in a while he would blink out of reflex. Akane leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll be waiting here for you Ranma. Come back to us." She wasn't sure but she could have sworn Ranma blushed slightly.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rants:  
  
I seriously underestimated the number of chapters needed to complete this monster. Of course they are rather short, however that allows me to update faster so there is a little trade off. Just for anyone who's curious, Ailuropoda melanoleuca is the scientific name for the giant Chinese panda.  
  
What's weird is my spell checker believes burble is a word. Must go find dictionary, I wonder if it means what I used it for?  
  
I do have a gripe about some other fanfic writers, I will not name names, mainly because I don't remember any off hand. Do these guys even bother to look at a map of China when the begin writing? How many people here really know where the Bankala Mountain range is? (I probably spelled it wrong again.) It's in the Quin Hai province of China. A place that is about as west China as you can get and still be in China. It's closer to Turkey and Hungary than Japan. In fact you could probably hike there from Afghanistan. Allah help the Taliban if they tried to invade Jusenkyou valley :) Seriously though, on foot, it would be like walking the length of the united states to get from Jusenkyou to Tokyo. Even if Genma and Ranma hitched a ride with every vehicle they came across it would still take a couple of weeks to get to Nerima. In fact I believe they mention that a few weeks had gone by between Jusenkyou and Nerima in the first episode of the anime. I've read too many fics where someone needs to get to Jusenkyou and they manage to arrive in just a couple of days. This would be all right if they were driving or flying, but these people are walking or riding horses or some other slower means of conveyance. Not to mention the fact that travel is restricted within China via internal checkpoints and passports. All I'm saying, is a little extra research will make the story much more believable and make a good story great, or even a bad story mediocre.  
  
Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. And before anyone flames me, I know I've done the same damn assumptions in my own stories, possibly even this one. So I'm a hypocrite ;P (Biiidha!)  
  
And for those who are wondering, no this will not end up being a Tenchi X- over. I just seem to have an inability to write a pure Ranma fic and using the fruit of Funaho just seemed appropriate. 


	12. When Nightmares Attack

Hathor was sitting in her garden when she felt the presence of another power enter her domain. A blue light floated in as if dancing on air currents. It came to rest on the other side of the courtyard and resolved into the form of a tall blue haired lady in elegant robes.  
  
"Greetings Goddess Hathor, I am Tsunami Goddess of Jurai." She said.  
  
Hathor bowed and gestured for one of her servants to bring tea, "I greet you in return. What do I owe the honor of your visit to my humble estate?" She motioned for Tsunami to sit on the bench across from her.  
  
"I apologize for intruding but I have come on a request from one of my followers on the behalf of Nodoka Saotome."  
  
Hathor paled visibly and took a cup of tea offered by an imp to calm her nerves, "I had expected something like this would occur soon. I have felt a shift in the currents of the Dreaming. There are dark omens I fear." She looked up from the floating tea leaves in her cup.  
  
Tsunami tried to reassure the distraught goddess, "I have no power here over you or yours. I am here however to beg for the release of Ranma Saotome. His mother misses him terribly and I feel Akane Tendo would like to see him face to face as well."  
  
Hathor frowned then shook her head, "I'm not sure if you know what you're asking. Ranma has lived in the Dreaming for ten years. He barely remembers the waking world anymore. However, I will speak with him on the subject. Things have happened that may take the decision from me anyway. Akane has been exiled from the Dreaming and I fear my son holds me responsible."  
  
Tsunami gasped, "Will Akane be all right?"  
  
Hathor sighed, "If she does not return to the dreaming within a week or longer if she is strong willed, she will slowly begin to go mad as the excess emotional energies build up before finally killing her. I have appealed the decision of the council and will continue to do so until I am heard. I'm afraid my influence in this realm is not what it used to be however."  
  
Tsunami digested the information as she drank her tea, "Unfortunately I cannot interfere. I can tell you that Nodoka Saotome is aware of Ranma's fate through Akane. I believe she has fallen in love with the boy."  
  
Hathor laughed, "Even in the realm of dreams Love is still the one unpredictable, uncontrollable force in existence. Tsunami, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will discuss this with Ranma at the earliest opportunity. If worse comes to worse, I will bring Nodoka here to visit Ranma. I think I should talk to her regardless."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
"I'm home!" Akane's voice called out from the front door. Soun and Genma were still in the middle of their game although Genma was looking a little tense. Ryu was watching TV and eating a bag of potato chips ignoring the scowl Nabiki was giving him for stealing her snacks.  
  
"Welcome home Akane" Kasumi said as she came from the kitchen, "How did things... Oh My, we have a guest. I'll go get some tea." She turned and hurried back to the kitchen.  
  
Soun finished his move and looked up as Akane came in with Nodoka behind her, "Akane, who's our guest?" He wasn't sure but she looked very familiar. Genma took advantage of Soun's inattention and quickly moved some pieces around on the board.  
  
"Hello Soun, Genma. I see you are still up to your old tricks." Nodoka responded.  
  
Soun's eyes widened and Genma froze in fear, "N-N-Nodoka!" They both stammered in stereo.  
  
Nodoka gave a cold smile, "Yes, I believe the Americans have a phrase for situations like this. Oh yes, 'the jig is up.' I've told Akane-chan here everything about her mother's legacy. Frankly Soun, I expected something like this from Genma but I'd hoped you had more honor than this."  
  
Soun gulped nervously then winced under the cold glare his youngest daughter was giving him. Ryu was staring with mild curiosity and Nabiki entered the room with Kasumi from the kitchen. Genma however was moving ever so slowly towards the open doors facing the pond.  
  
Akane stepped forward, "how could you do this Daddy? We trusted you. We loved you!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.  
  
"There...there were debts... With no income from the dojo...things were..." Soun trailed off, unsure of what else he could say to restore the trust he had betrayed.  
  
Genma took that as his cue, "WellSoungottarunnowitwasniceseeingyouagainNodokacomeonRyuit'stimetocontinue ourjourney" he grabbed his 'son' by the back of his shirt and took off across the yard and over the fence.  
  
Nabiki came further into the room, "What's going on here?"  
  
"It's simple dear. If you'll have a seat I'll explain how your father and my ex-husband were about to swindle you girls out of your mother's inheritance." Nodoka sat down.  
  
Surprisingly, Soun managed to find his spine, "What?! How dare you come in here and make accusations?! I demand you leave right now!"  
  
Nodoka had to admit Soun's demon head technique was quite good and a lesser person might have been cowed into submission. Nodoka however was made of sterner stuff.  
  
"I dare because of Kimiko! I dare because it's the only way to stop you from doing just what she hoped to prevent. Now sit down and shut up or leave. This is for your daughters only."  
  
Soun shut up and glared at Nodoka for a moment before cringing from Akane's equally harsh glare.  
  
Taking Soun's silence as her cue Nodoka began her tale, "You're mother and I are cousins by marriage and grew up together. Her family was quite wealthy and had stock and businesses not only here in Japan but also in America as well. It was when we were down in Kyoto, to visit the various shrines and temples as part of your mother's studies in college, that we met your father and my ex-husband."  
  
Nabiki and Kasumi gasp in surprise. That their mother had been in college came as a shock to them all. Kasumi hoped Ms. Saotome would stay for a while and talk about mother. It had been over ten years since she had died and Kasumi's memories were slowly fading.  
  
Nabiki felt torn, this woman was accusing her father of horrible things but she also knew her mother, had grown up with her she claimed. Deciding she needed more data, she kept silent.  
  
Akane had already heard most of the story so she kept an eye on her father to judge his reaction. She didn't want to believe Nodoka's tale but from living with Genma for a while she had to wonder.  
  
"Apparently Soun and Genma's master had decided to train in Kyoto since it was a larger city and there was less chance of being caught by the police. Master Happosai..."  
  
"Don't say that Name!" Soun yelled.  
  
Nodoka frowned at the spineless man, "As I was saying, their master created the Anything goes school as a means to steal and evade capture. Food, money, alcohol, even women's panties were fair game for Happosai." Soun whimpered but stayed silent. "The master was a pervert of the highest order."  
  
"So how did Mother end up with father if he was being trained to be a pervert and a thief?" Kasumi asked quietly. Soun looked at his eldest daughter with tears in his eyes and a hurt expression on his face.  
  
"It was quite funny in a way. Your mother was quite the bold one in those days. Soun and Genma had been standing outside a nearby temple while their master was inside stealing kami knows what when we happened by. Your father was really an attractive man in those days and your mother began to flirt with him. After about ten minutes, your father worked up the nerve to talk to her. That was when their master returned. He saw your mother and launched himself at her, attaching himself to her chest in a most perverted fashion. Your father attacked him and knocked him to the ground and between him and Genma beat the lech unconscious. Your Mother was impressed with Soun's gallant defense of her honor and the hit it off. It wasn't until Nabiki was born did I finally marry Genma with the promise that they'd get rid of the master, which they did somehow."  
  
"So what does this have to do with an inheritance?" Nabiki asked.  
  
Nodoka bowed her head, "Sorry, I got off track. As I said before, your mother came from a wealthy family and had a decent dowry, this house was part of it. They also knew of Soun's past and his association with Happosai. Your grandparents made specific provisions in their will that while you girls would always have a home and be provided for, Soun would never be able to touch any of the money. Your mother received a monthly allowance from a trust fund in order to pay bills and buy food. More than enough to live comfortably if not richly. The bulk of the money had been set aside for the day Kasumi came of age or one of you girls became married."  
  
Nabiki was now glaring at Soun. She balanced the house budget and never knew of any of this. When she saw him flinch from her gaze she knew it was true. All her scrounging and scheming and they didn't have to worry about money?! The bill were always paid? So where did all the money she brought into the household go? She vowed to have a talk with her father in private later.  
  
"Oh my," Kasumi exclaimed, "I turn twenty in less than a month. That must have been why father and Sao... I mean Genma-san were pushing Akane to get married so fast."  
  
Nodoka nodded, "With her married and still under the age of majority, her husband would become legally responsible for the money. Unless he was also under age, then it would fall to the legal guardians of the couple to manage the money until one of them reached twenty."  
  
"Daddy, please tell me the fat Panda put you up to this." Nabiki asked while looking into his eyes.  
  
Soun nodded, "Yes, it was all Genma's idea! He said we could reinvest it and make even more money before you girls grew up!"  
  
Nabiki sighed and shook her head, "He's lying."  
  
"How do you know?" Kasumi asked quietly.  
  
"I can tell. It's what I do all day at school. I ferret out the truth. I've gotten very good at telling whether someone is being truthful or not. If you'll excuse me." Nabiki said as she got up to leave the room. Akane could see her fighting to contain the tears that all three daughters were threatening to shed. Nabiki ran upstairs.  
  
"Saotome-san, I thank you for bringing this to our attention. I would like to talk to you again about our mother sometime but now we must deal with this." Kasumi said soberly.  
  
Nodoka nodded, "Of course Tendo-san." She handed Kasumi a small card, "Call me if you need anything. Akane..." She nodded to the youngest girl and got up to leave.  
  
As she got to the front door she heard Akane call out, "Auntie wait!" She came close, "Is it... would it be all right if I came by to see Ranma?"  
  
"Of course Akane-chan. I'm sure he'd appreciate that. Good luck to you child." Nodoka said as she stepped out into the early evening air.  
  
Akane returned from the foyer to see Nabiki coming down the stairs. She had tears running down her face even though it was set in a look of resolve, "Kasumi, Akane, we need to talk upstairs. Alone." The last was directed at Soun.  
  
As the girls disappeared up to Nabiki's room, Soun sighed and grabbed the bottle of Sake sitting next to the Go board. Taking a deep drink he wondered just where he had screwed up his life.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma appeared in the main entry hall of Hathor's estate. It rarely changed and seemed stable compared to the rest of the Dreaming that was always in some sort of flux. His assignment as part of the resistance was to keep his mother safe. That sounded good in theory, however his mother was a goddess. Anything that could harm her would probably not even think twice about destroying him. He frowned, deep in thought on his way to his chambers. He was so deep in thought that he almost bumped into his mother walking the other way.  
  
"Um, sorry. Wasn't watchin' where I was goin'." He mumbled.  
  
"Ranma, I've been looking for you. We need to talk. About you and me, your real mother and Akane." Hathor held out her hand to him.  
  
Ranma sighed, "Yeah, let's talk mom." He figured she must have had a good reason for doing what she did all those years ago and he'd give her the benefit of the doubt and listen.  
  
As they left to visit the courtyard neither of them noticed the dark shadow detach from the base of a statue and follow the pair down the hall.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
It was almost an hour before the Tendo girls returned to the dining room. Nabiki clutched a pack of papers in a manila folder that Soun recognized immediately. He knew whatever was going to happen wouldn't be good.  
  
"Father, Nabiki has brought evidence of your intentions to light. These papers detail a number of dummy companies and back accounts that would have drained away what these bank statements show to be a huge sum of money. All that money would have gone into secret accounts accessible only by you and Genma-san. Also these pamphlets about the Caribbean imply that you would have left your daughters here with ownership of the dojo and house but no money to run it. I am ashamed of your dishonorable actions and I am ashamed to call you my father." Kasumi sniffed and wiped her eyes to keep from breaking down and crying again. She was strong when mother died, she would be strong now.  
  
"Father. Akane, Nabiki and I have decided. We want you to leave. You are not welcome here anymore."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nodoka finished feeding Ranma and cleaned the dishes. She idly thought about what could be going on in the Dreaming as Akane had put it. It was a lot to hope but she couldn't help but be a little excited at the prospect of her son coming back to her soon. The fact that Akane seemed to already be in love with him was a big bonus. Even in the dream world her son was a man among men! Thoughts of grandchildren were interrupted when the phone rang.  
  
"Hello, Saotome residence." She answered.  
  
"Auntie Nodoka?" A quiet Akane asked over the phone.  
  
"Akane? What's wrong child?"  
  
"Um, well... we threw daddy out of the house tonight and we kinda... we need an adult to stay with us. I know it's a lot to ask, especially since we just met and all, but..."  
  
"Don't worry Akane, Ranma and I will be right over."  
  
There was an audible sigh of relief over the phone.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rants:  
  
Hah! That chapter took heck of a lot out of me. There must be some sort of laxative for writer's block out there. Of course writer's diarrhea would be messy. Anyway, school is starting soon! Funny thing is, I tend to get more writing done during the semester than sitting around all summer doing nothing. Hopefully this new chapter is a sign that my writing will be back on track now. Heh, we'll see.  
  
Ok, latest problem; I have too many fics that aren't done. But I also have ideas for about ten to fifteen more fics that I have this insane urge to write. I don't want to be like all these other big writers (ie. Gregg Sharp) who start dozens of fics but never finish. I've seen people post challenges on fanfiction.net (Against user policy) but that never seems to work. As I type, I have seven word windows open, one of which is a new fic I was forced by GOD to write (yeah, that's a good excuse). The others include Ranko's curse, (Next chapter should be up soon) the next chapter of this fic (Not started), Element of shadows, Four years (Haven't written anything new in months), Return of the Age of Heroes chp 2, And too many Ranma's. I have about four other stories I would like to post the first chapters of but am uncertain because I don't want to get yelled at for having too many. Let me know what you think.  
  
On a final note, My Ranma ½ Japanese volumes are starting to come in and I've noticed only a few discrepancies so far. I'm tinkering with the idea of writing a research paper on Ranma. Ranma ½ the Manga vs. Anime a fanfic writer's perspective. Ok so it's a working title. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress or lack thereof in future chapters.  
  
Ja ne! 


	13. Dream weaver

Nodoka looked around the kitchen one last time before turning off the light. She left and walked down the hallway to the dining/living room. She slid the doors to the yard shut and made sure the television was off. As she continued to wander her cousin's house, she thought back on all the memories she had of their time together. They were closer than sisters and it wasn't until they'd met the practitioners of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts did they begin to drift apart. Nodoka sadly reflected that she hadn't seen any of Kimiko's daughters since she attended Kimiko's funeral.  
  
After making sure the house was secure for the night, Nodoka went upstairs. Passing the guestroom, she looked down the hall and noticed everything was quiet, although there was a light coming from the gap under Nabiki's door. She idly wondered what the middle Tendo sister was up to at nearly midnight but didn't want to pry, at least not yet.  
  
Returning to the guest room, she entered and shut the door behind her. She glanced down at her son who was sleeping on a futon. She idly wondered what was going on wherever his consciousness was and if he was thinking of his mother. She knelt down and brushed his eyes closed as he tended to sleep sometimes with them open.  
  
She got up and prepared herself for bed. She smiled at the thought of being a mother again, not just a caretaker for her son, even if it was just until Kasumi turned twenty. She had left a notice for her tenants at the maison that she would be gone for a few weeks but left a number to get a hold of her in case of emergencies.  
  
Nodoka finally turned off the light and laid down on her futon. She stared at the ceiling for a moment before closing her eyes.  
  
*I wonder what I'll dream about?* she wondered as she slipped into slumber.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ranma sat frozen, with a cup of tea halfway to his lips. He was sitting with his mother, Hathor, in her garden. He was just about to take his first drink when Hathor had told him her plan.  
  
"You're going to what?" He finally managed to ask.  
  
"I said I'm going to talk to your real mother. If nothing else, she deserves to tell her side of the story about what happened when you were a child. Then if things go well, I shall allow the two of you to talk and maybe something can be arranged."  
  
"Like letting me go free?" Ranma asked hesitantly.  
  
Hathor winced. "Do you really feel that way? Do you feel I'm keeping you trapped against your will?"  
  
Ranma panicked. "No! Never! You'll always be my mother and I'd never regret my time spent in the Dreaming. It's just that sometimes, sometimes, I wonder what it's like living in the Blind. It was so long ago I can't really remember."  
  
Hathor nodded. "There is also the girl you met. I'm sure you'd like to meet her in the waking world, wouldn't you?"  
  
Ranma's blush was enough of an answer for Hathor. She sighed and rubbed her temples. Her position on the council was becoming tenuous and she could feel some of the other members beginning to circle like sharks closing in for the kill. With the nightmare lords consolidating their power base and her influence in the dreaming beginning to wane, why, just why did Ranma have to start noticing girls now?  
  
"Um, mother? What are we going to do about Akane?" Ranma asked after finishing his tea.  
  
Hathor sipped from her cup as she contemplated what to tell her son. "She will be all right for a couple of days in the Blind. I will appeal to the council to try and change their verdict. Things are changing Ranma. People don't dream as much as they used to. Nightmares are more prevalent. As you know, my power comes from not only belief but also the power of dreams. Most of the other dream gods have dissipated themselves into the Dreaming or merged with me as the dream power has faded. Unfortunately the Nightmare Lords have grown stronger as a result. I will do what I can for Akane but you must realize my power is not what it was even ten years ago."  
  
Ranma frowned as he thought on this. Hathor could see the emotions play upon his face. He was always expressive and honest with his feelings. She just hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid.  
  
"Mom, I don't know about the council, but I think you have the support of the people. Heck even some of the nightmares I know like you a lot."  
  
Hathor smiled. She knew Ranma liked to move among the people and had built up quite a following himself. He would know the opinions of the City of Dreams better than she herself would. It was oddly comforting to know the people still supported her.  
  
"Thank you Ranma. I should go, the council will convene soon. Have faith my son," Hathor stood and erased the tea set before leaving her garden.  
  
Unnoticed by either of them, the small shadow flowed out of the garden in another direction to report to its master.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Akane lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. It was nearly midnight and she couldn't sleep. She wondered briefly if it was because she couldn't sleep at all or if she was just scared of not being able to dream.  
  
*Either way it's the same result,* she thought wryly. She found herself worrying more about Ranma than the possibility of going insane or dying from being exiled from the Dreaming.  
  
She sighed and turned on her side. Ranma was just down the hall she realized, yet he was so far away. He was in a completely different world, a world where she couldn't go to anymore and wasn't welcome if she even made it there. Her search at the library before going to Nodoka's apartment had turned up nothing useful. She wondered briefly what it was like to die from dream deprivation.  
  
That was when she noticed everything in her room had taken on a grainy quality as if she was watching it through a television screen. Even the color was washed out as if in an old sixties TV series. She sat up and watched as her room wavered with bursts of static, and the crackling of electronic snow. She had no sooner sat up in bed when her door opened. In walked three small gnomes carrying what looked like wands, each tipped with a large rose quartz crystal.  
  
"No, reception's still off!" one of the gnomes yelled out the door. He went to Akane's desk and planted his wand on top of it. Three legs folded out and kept the wand stable. Pushing a button on the wand, the crystal began to glow and the static seemed to lessen.  
  
"All right, put one over there and one there," the gnome commanded, pointing to Akane's closet and dresser. Once the other two wands were set up and glowing, the static had dissipated although everything still had a grainy look.  
  
The gnomes filed out of the room as Akane grabbed her robe. She realized she was dreaming but otherwise didn't know what was going on. As she was about to leave, another figure entered her room. Akane was shocked by how much it looked like Marilyn Monroe, except for the beard and claws of course.  
  
The blonde pulled out a large cigar and lit it up before speaking. "Yo, name's Zeke. Are you Akane Tendo?" he asked. At her hesitant nod he continued, "Sorry 'bout the quality but we're usin' illegal Dreamscape hardware to bring you into the Dreamin'. Bootleg dream mining ain't always top quality but it works."  
  
"Did Ranma do this? Is he here?" Akane asked.  
  
Zeke looked at his watch, "He should be here soon. I went ahead and set up this dream chamber so everything would be up and runnin' by the time he gets here."  
  
Akane sat down in her chair. Realizing she was still in her pajamas, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Her clothes shifted and morphed into a blouse and pair of slacks. She opened her eyes and blanched at the color. Zeke noticed her expression and laughed.  
  
"Not gonna get the same results as if you was in the Dreamin' girl."  
  
Akane frowned but accepted his explanation. "Can you tell me what's going on in the Dreaming? Is Ranma in trouble?"  
  
"I can answer that," came Ranma's voice from the door, "Thanks Zeke, I owe you big for this."  
  
Zeke shook his head. "Jus' keep yo mamma safe," he headed for the door, "Don' take too long. Hathor not gonna be in session with the Council forever ya know?"  
  
Ranma nodded as Zeke shut the door behind him. He turned back to Akane just in time for her to glomp on to him with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Oh Ranma! I was so scared!" she sobbed.  
  
"It'll be ok Akane. Mom is talking to the Council right now, trying to overturn their decision to exile you."  
  
They held each other for a few moments until Akane grew quiet in Ranma's arms. She looked up at him to see him smile at her.  
  
"I have so much to tell you," she finally said.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hathor watched the proceedings in the council chambers as she pondered her course of attack. Once the hall was filled with Dreams, now over three quarters of the Council was comprised of Nightmares or their allies. She sighed to herself as she glanced at her supporters, minor dream spirits mostly. They were only allied with her so that they wouldn't be completely overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the Nightmare Lords. She wished Ranma were more experienced. As popular as he was with the common people living in the City of Dreams, he could easily gain a seat on the Council.  
  
Finally, old business was finished and the floor was opened to new proposals. Hathor stood up and waited to be recognized by Morpheus, the current chairman of the council. After almost a full minute, he slowly nodded, granting Hathor the right to speak. Hathor kept her anger in check, losing her temper now would not help Akane.  
  
"I present the motion to appeal the exile sentence on one Akane Tendo as I feel it was an unjustified overreaction." There were hushed whispers and groans from the Nightmare council members.  
  
"I second the motion," Neru, a small Japanese sleep spirit said. She looked at Hathor and gave her a slight nod.  
  
Morpheus gave a slight grin that only Hathor could see before speaking. "The motion has been seconded, we shall now call a vote. All in favor of the appeal say aye."  
  
There were various 'ayes' from around the room. What shocked Hathor was how many came from the Nightmares and how many voices were silent from her side. She had not thought she would have any support from the dark dreams.  
  
"All opposed?" Morpheus asked.  
  
The 'nays' were more vocal and Hathor could not tell if there were more voices than before. She waited for the final tally but realized without much hope that she would have to speak to some of the others to bring them to her side before she brought it up before the Council for a vote again.  
  
A small imp handed a paper to Morpheus who unfolded, and began to read from it. "Forty-six in favor of appeal, fifty-eight against, and four abstentions. I am sorry, the motion is denied."  
  
Hathor frowned, she hadn't expected an easy victory but it was a closer vote than last time. Perhaps with a little lobbying, she could swing a favorable vote, especially if she threw in some conditions on Akane returning to the Dreaming. She began planning, barely paying attention to the rest of the session.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nodoka sat on a park bench watching her son play in the sandbox nearby. The sun was high overhead and it was a beautiful spring day. She so content to just watch her boy play that she barely noticed another woman sit down next to her.  
  
"He's a fine boy," the woman says.  
  
Nodoka looks over and sees a dark skinned gaijin lady. She nods. "Ranma is the light of my life."  
  
"I think you would be proud of him if you knew what he has accomplished," Hathor replied.  
  
Nodoka sat back and watched the boy play in the sand for a couple of minutes before saying anything else. "Are you Hathor?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the child.  
  
"Yes, I am the goddess of dreams. I was contacted on your behalf about Ranma and felt you deserved to at least know what has happened and why."  
  
Nodoka frowned, tears coming to her eyes. "It was the Neko-ken training wasn't it? You saved him by bringing him here. I wasn't a good mother. I should never have let Genma take him away from me."  
  
"Yet, you have taken care of him ever since. You could have left him in professional care."  
  
"After what happened, Ranma deserved more than an impersonal, sterile hospital. I hoped he would wake up someday, look me in the eye and smile like he used to," Tears now flowed freely from her eyes, "Maybe he would even forgive me, even if I can't forgive myself."  
  
Hathor felt guilt over what she had taken from Nodoka. Even though her original intention was to save Ranma's life, out of her own selfish desire to raise a child, she kept Ranma from a mother that loved him dearly.  
  
Hathor placed a hand on Nodoka's shoulder. "I will do what I can for you. At the very least, I can let you see Ranma here in the Dreaming. I will bring him with me next time."  
  
Nodoka looked up at Hathor with renewed hope in her eyes. "I'll finally get to see my baby?"  
  
Hathor smiled. "Yes, I promise."  
  
Both women turned upon noticing the boy Ranma from Nodoka's dream and walked up to the pair. It looked up at Hathor with wide blue eyes.  
  
"Hathor Goddess of Dreams, you are hereby charged with bring an unauthorized mortal into the dreaming. You are under arrest."  
  
The boy shifted and morphed into a large muscled man with dark features. Five more figures emerged from nearby shadows and surrounded the goddess. The first figure reached out and touched Hathor with a wand. With a jolt of blue electricity the goddess went limp.  
  
Nodoka watched in horror as the dreamscape faded.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Nodoka sat up in a panic and quickly went to her son. "Oh Ranma! Something horrible has happened!"  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Author's Rant:  
  
Heh, cliffhangers are a bitch, eh? After a long hiatus, I have returned to this story. Things come to a head and should wrap up in one or two more chapters. I also plan an epilogue to finish it up. I figure if I can actually finish one fic, then it will give me the motivation to finish up some other outstanding works plus get started on my own novels. Maybe I should put it to a vote on which fic I should finish next, eh? Also, I'm looking for fanart if anyone is feeling creative. I've been contemplating my own website for a while now and a fan art section would be cool.  
  
Later.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
"I'm Ranma Saotome!" he shouted while strumming his guitar loudly and badly.  
  
"And I'm Tenchi Masaki!" the other boy kicked in with his own off tune solo.  
  
Shouting together, "And we are, WILD STALLIONS! WOOOOOO!"  
  
Tenchi stopped playing after a moment and looked at Ranma confused. "Dude, why do we have to name the band after you?"  
  
Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "because 'Heaven and Earth' sounds like a lame seventies rock band, that's why."  
  
"Oh yeah..."  
  
-Excerpt from Ranma and Tenchi's Excellent Adventure. 


	14. Wild Horse vs Night Mare

Akane finished telling Ranma about her day with Nodoka, how his father had tried to swindle the Tendo sisters out of their inheritance, and how Ranma and his mother were now living at the dojo for a couple of months.

Ranma sat quietly for a moment before speaking. "That's a lot to take in all at once. So tell me, how do I look?"

Akane blushed a little. "A lot like you do here, only skinnier. You have less muscles and your skin is a little paler. The big difference is the eyes. Because you're here, there's no life in them."

"Hathor says I'll get to see my real mom soon if things go all right. It would be nice to see her again. All I have are faint memories of memories. She's also appealing the council's decision to exile you but until then, we'll keep smuggling you in via the bootleg dreamscape hardware." Ranma sat back on Akane's bed and Akane snuggled up against him.

Akane was mildly surprised at how natural this felt to be in someone's arms like this. She briefly thought about how things could have been in Ranma had grown up in the real world and decided living ten years with Genma would have turned Ranma into another Ryu. While she wasn't happy to have her potential boyfriend accessible only in dreams, she was grateful to have found someone she could come to like. She was hardly ready to admit she was in love with the pigtailed boy, as she was still coming to terms with the fact that a guy she thought was nothing more than a dream was a real flesh and blood person caught in another world against his will. It was too weird and if she hadn't met Genma and Ryu to prove magic really existed, she would have simply thought she was going mad.

Suddenly the door burst open, startling the couple. Zeke rushed in, smoke trailing from her lit cigar.

"We got trouble! Hathor's been arrested!"

Ranma leapt from the bed. "What!? How did this happen? I thought the council was still in session!" he screamed.

"Apparently, the council let out early and your mother decided to contact an unauthorized person from the blind. She was caught red handed and arrested on the spot. It's thrown the whole council into confusion and it looks like the Nightmares are rallying in preparation for a coupe."

"Damn. I should have been there!" Ranma shouted.

"Not your fault kiddo," Zeke consoled, "Hathor's usually not this impulsive. Kinda caught us off guard ya know?"

Ranma frowned, still feeling guilt over failing to protect his mother. "So what's the plan?"

"They be forcin' our hand by taking over the Dreamin' by force. We already have people moving in to get the remaining council members loyal to Hathor to safety. As for fighting back? We don't have anywhere near the manpower or equipment to stage a counter-coupe. All we can do is resort to guerrilla tactics and hope for a miracle."

"All right, I know some people who might be able to help. Let's get to planning.

"I'm coming with you," Akane said, getting up to join Ranma.

Ranma shook his head. "You can't leave the dreamscape we've set up. In fact we're going to have to shut all this down." Ranma gestured to Zeke and she left the room quickly.

"Damn it I want to help!" Akane said in frustration.

"Sorry 'Kane, maybe next time." Ranma grabbed her in a fierce hug and kissed her deeply just before the whole dream construct skewed sharply then went black.

Akane sat up in bed with a dark frown on her face.

"Ranma you jerk!"

* * *

Hathor sat back in her chair and sighed, wondering where she had gone wrong all those years ago. She'd been set up in a decent room under guard somewhere on her own estates. In the old days, she could have re-written the whole of the Dreaming in the blink of an eye. Now a couple of low-level nightmares were keeping her from moving about her own dreamscape.

"How the mighty have fallen," a voice came from the shadows. The room darkened as a form emerged.

"Morpheus, I assume I have you to thank for my being here?" Hathor asked before taking a sip of her tea, "Never mind, I know of your plans. I just regret that my actions have given you the means to fulfill them. What happened to you Morpheus? You used to be one of the great dream gods, why follow the path of nightmares?"

Morpheus chuckled. "That should be obvious my dear. Power, pure and simple. Look at you for example. You were one of the most powerful of all the dreamers and look at you now, weak, barely able to hold your own dreamscape together. Humans live in an age of fear and cynicism so that is where the power is."

"It didn't have to be. We were responsible to keep things in balance. The world has become a fearful place only because you and the other nightmares have made it so. You took the easy way to power and you will have to pay the price for it soon enough I'm sure."

Morpheus shook his head. "We shall see my dear. Unfortunately, you will not be around to see it. The reason I stopped by was to let you know that we shall soon hold your trial followed by your execution. The council members loyal to you are being rounded up and will meet the same fate. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you before it was too late that it really has been a pleasure working with you all these years."

"A pity I couldn't say the same," Hathor replied.

Morpheus just chuckled to himself and faded back into the shadows.

Hathor sat quietly for a while, going over the conversation again to see if there was anything she had missed when she noticed someone stepping out of the light coming through her window. It was Neru, the Japanese sleep spirit and fellow council member.

"My lady," Neru panted, "Excuse me, it took a lot of my energy to come here undetected."

Hathor nodded. "Take your time my dear."

After a moment, Neru seemed to recover enough to speak again.

"As you know, the nightmares have taken control of the council. They are quickly seizing control over all major nodes of the dreaming as well. However, there appears to be some resistance forming near the edge of Chaos. Several allied council members have taken refuge and are in hiding with the rebels. As I had hoped, I was small enough to pass unnoticed to these quarters to offer what assistance I could."

Hathor stood up, paced to the window, and gazed at her garden below for a short while.

"What of my son? Is there any word?"

"Yes my Lady, he works with the resistance from what information I could gather. The people love him and many gather to his banner despite the threats of the nightmares."

Hathor paced about restlessly deep in thought from this information. She knew her adopted son was charismatic and it seemed that many of the lessons she had taught him over the years had stayed with him. Suddenly she had an idea. There were certain truths to the Dreaming that while they were known about, very little had ever been done to exploit them, especially in this era of isolationism. In a way, Ranma was Hathor's ace in the hole. As long as she lived Ranma's connection to the dreaming could not be severed, and as a human living in the dreaming, Ranma had certain immunities that dreams and nightmares didn't have. Most creatures in the dreaming only had one defense against humans and that was to force them to wake up. Ranma couldn't wake up and he had trained against many of the psychic attacks the more powerful dreams could manifest.

Hathor turned to Neru and knelt down before the diminutive woman so they were at eye level. "I need to you to find Ranma. Stay with him and help him however he needs it. Also tell him, 'Dreams are only as powerful as the Dreamer.' He should be able to understand that."

"What of you my Lady?" Neru asked.

"I will be fine for now. I have the utmost faith that my son shall rescue us all."

The sleep spirit bowed then re-entered the light and disappeared.

"Now we shall see just how much my son has learned."

* * *

Akane wandered downstairs in a bad mood. It was barely three o'clock in the morning and she didn't feel like she could get back to sleep anytime soon. She had decided on a quick snack and maybe she could read a little or see what was on TV this early. As she neared the kitchen, she noticed a light on in the family room. She went to check on it, Nabiki was always complaining about keeping the power bill down. She looked in to see Nodoka sitting at the table nursing a cup of tea and staring at an uneaten plate of rice-crackers.

"Hello," Akane said hesitantly.

Nodoka looked up, her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. Akane wondered briefly how she must look herself. "Oh, hello Akane. I didn't wake you did I?"

"Oh no Auntie. I'd been dreaming. Apparently Ranma and some of his friends snuck me into the Dreaming using something they called bootleg Dreamscape hardware. Ranma and I were talking when this guy, or is it a girl, named Zeke came in and told us Hathor had been arrested. Then he kicked me out the jerk."

"So it was all real then?" Nodoka gasped, "Hathor was talking to me in my dreams when I saw Ranma as a child come up and tell her she was under arrest before transforming into a tall dark man. They knocked her unconscious and I woke up."

Akane now knew whom the unauthorized person Hathor had been talking to was. "What do we do Auntie?"

"I don't think there is anything we can do now. Whatever is happening is up to Ranma to deal with now."


	15. The end of a dream

"All right, I want people here, here, and here," Ranma said pointing at a large map that was unrolled on a table. That the geography of the map changed from second to second mattered little to the various dreams and nightmares gathered around the impromptu war room.

"If we can get control of those energy depots we'll be able to mount a proper offensive against Morpheus' troops," Zeke added with a grunt, "We'll focus at these nodes while Ranma slips into Hathor's dreamscape to rescue the goddess. Once she's safe, we'll be able to attack without Morpheus using her as a hostage."

Ranma was about to speak again when there was a sound of commotion from outside followed by a couple of dreams being thrown aside like stuffed animals (The fact one of them looked like a care bear was incidental). Neru, the small Japanese kami, stopped in front of Ranma, panting heavily.

"Oh huff I am so going to need pant pant a nap when this is over!" a look of relief came over her when she saw Ranma before her, "Lord Ranma, thank the Dreaming I found you!"

"Neru? What are you doing here?"

"I just came from your mother's..."

"My mother? How is she? Is she safe?" Ranma bombarded the poor spirit with questions.

Neru relayed everything she could about Hathor's captivity then told Ranma what the Goddess of Dreams had told her to tell him. "My Lord, she said that 'Dreams are only as powerful as the Dreamer.' Do you know what she meant?"

Ranma sat back on a chair that hadn't been there a moment ago to think. His puzzled expression changed to one of realization as it became clear to him.

"I understand! Zeke, new plan. Continue to concentrate on those dream nodes, we'll need them to coordinate everything. Find all the dreams and nightmares we can trust and have them start bringing the dreamers in."

Neru gasped. "My lord! We can't do that! We've never allowed that many dreamers into the dreaming! There's no way we could control that many at once!"

Zeke nodded but didn't seem happy. "It'll be difficult. Outside of their own dreamscapes that many dreamers will be beyond our control ya know. As long as they stay on our side there's nothing we can't beat. We'll win this war hands down for sure. But it's an extreme risk. The very fabric of the dreaming could be torn apart if they were to turn on us. Ya sure about this Ranma? The cure could be worse than the disease."

"It's just going to be one time. We might get some return visitors out of the bunch but most of them will wake up thinking it was just a dream and go back to their lives. Besides, from what I've heard, we used to have visitors from the blind all the time in the old days," Ranma argued.

Joe shook his head. "I be thinkin' we don't 'ave much of a choice 'ere. I agree wit Zeke though 'dat we be needin' ta be cautious."

Ranma sighed. "All right, we have our missions then. Neru, you're with me. I want you to show me the back way you took into Hathor's palace. Let's do this people!"

Everyone cheered and began to split up into their various factions.

* * *

Akane looked up at the clock. It was nearly four A.M. and both her and Nodoka had been talking ever since the incident in the Dreaming had awoken both of them.

"Since magic does exist, I wonder if I could learn some. Not the stage stuff but the real thing," Akane mused.

The dialogue had veered off course from the original subject of the Dreaming. But in the process Ranma's real mother and the youngest Tendo had become good friends.

"Hmmm, but where would you find anyone to teach you?" Nodoka answered before taking a sip of her tea.

It was apparent that neither of them would be getting any more sleep that night.

* * *

Dreams spread out across the entire ever-changing terrain of the Dreaming entering the personal dreamscapes of men, women, and children who were asleep all across Asia, India, and even the Eastern edge of Africa and Europe. Everywhere they talked to the people dreaming, trying to convince them to answer the call of arms and defend the Dreaming from the nightmares.

In a small tent, in a forest somewhere in Hokkaido, a man slept. The tiger striped bandana he wore collected the sweat on his forehead as he tossed and turned in his sleep. As he dreamed he knew this was somehow someone else's fault.

A young girl dreamt of her friend from her youth, a friend who she was to marry until she found out about his catatonic state. He was helping her with her Okonomiyaki restaurant as their children ran and played out in the dining area. When her love turned to her and asked for her help to save the dimension of dreams she didn't hesitate to agree.

Nabiki and Kasumi both were willing to come to the aid of Ranma and his friends, if nothing else than to help their sister.

In China a young woman with purple hair dreamed of one day finding the man who was strong enough to defeat her in battle thus sweeping her off her feet to spend a night filled with carnal pleasures. When she was interrupted, she was mildly annoyed yet and Amazon never turned down a challenge.

The young woman's great great grandmother was approached by one of the ancestors of her tribe. She was asked to provide aid as the threat to the Dreaming was greater than had ever existed before. Khu Lon agreed even though she had not been to the Dreaming in over two hundred years. She wondered at the stories of the mortal son of the goddess of dreams and wondered if maybe a trip to Nerima, Japan was in order once this crisis was passed. After all her great great granddaughter was about the same age. It could be a fine match.

The young hidden weapons master promised that he would follow her anywhere, into the very fires of hell if need be. Celeste the succubus giggled to herself at how easy it was to manipulate some of these mortals. She brushed her currently purple hair back and opened a door that would lead directly into the Dreaming. Mousse followed the Shampoo look alike towards his destiny.

Similar events happened all over the dark side of the Earth. From Japan, where people were less than an hour from getting up, to England, where some people had just turned in early for the coming night, people were following dreams into the Dreaming.

Zeke looked over the forming army and shuddered. Over a billion people had been recruited and were being given basic instruction on how the Dreaming worked. If even ten percent of them remembered how to get back here again then the whole face of the Dreaming would be forever altered. He watched as people began to change themselves into various superheroes or magical girls and martial artists. It was interesting to see how people viewed heroes in this day and age. Japanese television had had a major impact on the world's self image. As he was about to turn to another section he spotted someone he'd thought dead many years ago.

"Khu Lon! I thought you'd be dead now fool!" He shouted while puffing on his big cigar.

The young emerald haired warrior woman looked up at the clawed Marilyn Monroe and smiled. "Hello Zeke. You're looking good these days."

Zeke looked stunned. "how'd you know it was me?"

"You can change your looks but you can't change your aura. You should know that."

"Heh, never could fool you ya know. What're ya doin' still alive anyhow?" Zeke asked.

Khu Lon shrugged. "Healthy living I suppose. Although I don't look anywhere near this beautiful in the Blind anymore. I assume Morpheus has made his move for you to risk so many dreamers in the Dreaming."

"You always were on the ball, even back then. How'd you know it was Morpheus?"

"I suspected he was the main reason so many of us were banished to our own dreamscapes so many years ago. Dreamers have a power here beyond even the dreams that inhabit the place. We were a threat to his power base and as such had to be eliminated. Ah, I see my great great granddaughter over there. Good luck to you Zeke, I know us dreamers have little to fear here unlike yourself."

Zeke nodded solemnly. "Thank you, it was good to see you again. Maybe we can get together after this whole mess is over and catch up on old times."

"I would like that," Khu Lon replied.

* * *

Ranma followed Neru through a convoluted series of dreamscapes as they made their way to Hathor's rooms. Ranma hoped they could get in and out without being noticed but prepared for the worst.

They reached the final leg of their journey and came to a stop before a tree with a hole leading down between the roots.

"A rabbit hole? Aren't we getting all cliché today." Ranma remarked.

Neru blushed. "I'm sorry my lord, Hathor herself created this backdoor and even though it's shielded like the rest of her dreamscape, the shields are weakest here."

Ranma sighed. There was nothing to do about it then. "I'll set off any alarms the instant I break through. You wait here to get Hathor away as soon as she comes through. I may have to stay behind to delay any pursuers."

Neru nodded and gathered her resolve. She would be brave like Lord Ranma and her mentor Hathor. She gulped nervously though and hoped she wouldn't have to fight.

Ranma gave Neru one of his patented smirks that made the small goddess' heart jump in her chest and plunged through the rabbit hole. Neru leaned back against the tree and sighed. She wondered if she would ever get the nerve to tell the young man how she felt about him.

* * *

Hathor was looking out over her garden when Ranma came falling through a hole that was suddenly in the roof. She was stunned to see her adopted son so soon but rushed over to hug him anyway.

"Hello mother, I missed you," Ranma said as he returned the hug, "We have to get you out of here though. I've held open the way out of here so we'd better hurry before someone comes."

"Too late for that boy," came a voice from behind them. Ranma turned to see two large nightmares enter the room. They were made up to look like your standard winged demons with red skin and cloven hooves. Ranma looked past their appearances and found that his friend Joe was more powerful than these jokers. That meant someone more powerful had to be close to keep Hathor from escaping.

Ranma gestured towards the hole. "Go mother, Neru is waiting for you on the other side. She'll get you to the resistance."

"What about you son?" Hathor asked as she stepped towards the exit.

"Heh, these guys are a joke. I'll delay any pursuit then follow you."

Hathor nodded and jumped up through the hole as Ranma stepped between he and the two nightmares.

"Big mistake kid, Morpheus gave us orders to tear you apart," one of the demons growled. It rushed forward and clawed at Ranma.

Ranma evaded the clumsy strike and reached forward into the chest of the demon. With a ripping sound he pulled a black pulsing heart from the open wound.

"I guess Morpheus didn't tell you anything about me. I'm not just some dream you can push around. I'm one of the dreamers and I eat guys like you for lunch." Ranma gave the heart a squeeze causing the demon he'd pulled it from to scream in pain as it collapsed to the floor. The other demon turned white as fear crept up on its soul.

"Please, don't hurt him anymore! My brother has a wife!" the demon cried and it sank down next to the one writhing in pain. "We didn't know you were a dreamer. Sure, we'd heard rumors..." it trailed off looking pitiful.

Ranma shook his head. "Where's Morpheus? I know he wouldn't leave two low level nightmares like you in charge."

"He was in Hathor's chambers. He was looking for something."

"And it appears I have found it."

Ranma looked up to see the dark cloaked form of Morpheus, lord of nightmares.

"You see, Hathor left a substantial amount of power in a gem. A dreamstone if you will. It was how she was able to keep you here in the Dreaming. Didn't you ever wonder why you could never wake up like other dreamers?"

Ranma shook his head, "It never mattered. Your plan won't succeed you know."

"Oh, we'll see about that won't we? She left the stone in a very obvious place, yet I never thought about it before now. It's in you boy and you will give it to me. Once I have that stone, I will have control over the entirety of the Dreaming and you will be cast out just like your little girlfriend."

Suddenly the whole of Hathor's dreamscape tilted and shifted. Morpheus seemed shocked, it was hard to tell beneath his hood.

"A dreamquake? What have you done boy?"

Ranma smirked. "A dream is only as powerful as the dreamer. You can't win against the dreamers Morpheus."

"You fool! They will rip the Dreaming to shreds! You've doomed us all! Give me the stone and I might be able to stop this. Hurry boy!" Morpheus was shout dramatically.

"Even if I knew where it was I'd never give it to you," Ranma shouted over the cacophony of another quake.

Morpheus leapt at Ranma, his hands morphing into claws as the rest of his body burst out of the dark robes to reveal a black scaly hide. Ranma dodged to his left and tossed the heart he'd been holding back to the demon on the ground. The demon put it back in its chest and quickly faded away with it's sibling.

"I have worked for centuries towards my rule of this domain and I will not be thwarted by you or anyone else in the Blind!" Morpheus continued to grow until he was a large black dragon. The room seemed to accommodate his size even though it hadn't grown at all. Such is the nature of dreams.

"Hah," Ranma laughed as he leapt over a funnel of fire from the dragon's mouth, "I guess I'm just a monkey wrench in the works then. Mother always told me there was a reason I was named 'Chaos Horse'."

* * *

The attack had gone smoothly for all of five seconds. The instant some of the nightmares began to fight back against the dreamers, forcing them to awaken, was when the dreamquakes began. Some of the dreamers were forcing the reality of the Dreaming to conform to their will subconsciously to fight the nightmares. However there was little consensus as to the shape this reality should take, as a result the Dreaming shook as multiple wills struggled to remake the Dreaming in their own image.

Zeke wondered for the eighth time if he would survive the battle as nightmares were torn apart, their dream essence dispersing into the ether. The enemy lines broke almost immediately after the quakes began. It was because of the nightmares supporting Morpheus were in such disarray that the dreamers were still fighting. If Morpheus' army had simply retreated, Zeke was sure they could calm the dreamers down and get them back to their own dreadscapes.

Another quake hit, stronger than the last one. A tear formed in the sky above the battlefield showing the chaos that dwelled outside the Dreaming. Zeke was scared, not that he'd ever admit to such. It was beginning to look like their final gambit was going to destroy them all.

* * *

Morpheus roared in pain as Ranma clawed down his back. Hathor had been an Egyptian goddess in the old days, and as such, had been able to introduce Ranma to Bastet, the goddess of cats. Bastet had re-trained Ranma in the proper neko-ken years ago. A technique Ranma was using much to the detriment of Morpheus' back.

"You insufferable fool! Don't you realize that only Hathor's power united with mine can save the Dreaming now?"

"Even if that's true, I won't give you the power to rule." Ranma yelled back as he jumped over a falling column. Hathor's dreamscape was crumbling around them and Ranma could only guess what the rest of the Dreaming looked like.

He thought about what Morpheus was telling him as he dodged another attack. Supposedly, he had a stone inside him that held most of Hathor's power. He needed to join that with Morpheus' power yet in such a way that Morpheus could not use it after the Dreaming was saved. There had to be something he could do.

As Ranma blocked a beam of energy from Morpheus' claws, the answer came to him. It was a technique taught to him by a man who claimed to be the founder of the Anything Goes school that Ranma practiced. The little man frequented the edge of the Dreaming and had taught Ranma many fascinating techniques, one of which he hoped would actually work here.

Ranma needed room to execute the attack so he burst through the window and into the garden. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the item that was crucial to the attack.

He turned and dodged a claw to the head and held up the five yen piece.

"Happo Go En Sattsu!"

Morpheus screamed in pain as his aura began flowing through the air, into the hole of the coin and into Ranma. Ranma gritted his teeth as the rush of power filled his entire being. He briefly wondered if he could survive draining a god's energy. He hoped so, he'd like to see Akane again someday.

"No! Stop, please! I'll give you anything you want! I'll let the girl come back to the dreaming! I'll take you as an apprentice! Anything!" Morpheus continued to yell as his form grew smaller and smaller. His robes appeared and he regained his human appearance. Finally he slumped to the ground, appearing to be nothing more than a pile of empty robes. Ranma hardly noticed though as the pain of holding so much energy at once was proving to be difficult.

He looked down to see he was literally glowing. He tried to bring it under control like he did with his own ki when he noticed a second energy resonating with Morpheus'. That had to be the dreamstone the Nightmare Lord had been referring to. As he focused on it, the stolen energy began to funnel into it. With a sigh of relief Ranma dropped to his knees to catch his breath.

* * *

Because Nodoka and Akane were downstairs, no one noticed Ranma's body lying on the futon in the guest room begin to glow then fade to normal.

* * *

Ranma looked up at the widening tears in the sky. He knew what had to be done now and the risks it entailed. He couldn't entrust it to anyone else. It had been him who suggested bringing the dreamers so it was his responsibility alone. He flew up so he could overlook the majority of the dreaming. He could feel the dreamers. Many were scared of what was happening while some others were reveling in their newfound power.

Tapping into the stone in his chest, Ranma reached out and gently pushed the dreamers out of the Dreaming and back into their own dreamscapes. As sweat formed on his brow from the concentration, Ranma knew this was the easy part. Once the dreamers were safe he turned his attention on the Dreaming itself. There were cracks and tears everywhere and Chaos was leaking in through many of them. Closing his eyes, Ranma brought the full power inside the gem to bear on the damaged realm around him.

Far below, Hathor with the help of Neru joined up with Zeke and the nightmare Joe. Hathor could feel the power Ranma was attempting to use.

"No Ranma! You'll only destroy yourself!" she cried, tears running down her face.

"Can't you do anything?" Neru asked.

"No, almost all my power was in that gem Ranma is using to seal the breaches in the Dreaming. There is nothing we can do except pray it doesn't kill my son."

"There is something we can do," Zeke said, "We can give him more energy to do the job." He started yelling orders to the nearby dreams.

Ranma screamed as pain twice a bad as before tore through his being. He almost lost concentration more than once but held on by sheer will. His body glowed brighter and brighter as the tears began to close with an agonizing slowness. Ranma was certain he'd combust and part of his mind idly wondered why he was still alive. Then he felt it. Dream energy was flooding into him from below. Opening his eyes he could see beams of blue energy coming from the distribution nodes where dream energy was collected. 'Good old Joe' he thought upon seeing the black tar monster below directing other dreams to the various machinery.

Refocusing on his task, Ranma willed the tears closed and watched as they began to seal faster than before. They were going to do it he thought.

He could feel himself run dry as the last tear closed. "Just a little more!" he said through gritted teeth. The final tear faded as the last of Ranma's energy spent itself. He could feel the dreamstone crack and shatter as he began to plummet to the ground below.

Various dreams and even some of the nightmares flew up to catch him only to watch in shock as his body faded away from the Dreaming.

* * *

It was after six in the morning at the Tendo dojo and Nodoka was about to go begin breakfast preparations. She and Akane had spent the last couple of hours in a shared silence. Neither had wanted to speak but neither wanted to be alone right then. Akane's eyes were bloodshot, both from lack of sleep and from crying the previous night. Nodoka figured the poor girl would likely stay home from school today.

There was a stumbling sound from upstairs as someone could be heard coming towards the stairs. Akane assumed it was Nabiki since she was always half asleep and banging into things before she had her first cup of coffee. Nodoka sighed and decided she'd try to take a nap after breakfast.

The door to the sitting room slid open and both women looked up to see who had come downstairs.

"Mom? Akane? Where am I?"

* * *

Author's Rant:

OMG! After almost two years I think I finished this thing! All that's left is an epilogue and I'm done. I don't plan for a sequel although it's open for one. This is what I had originally planned for this story so I'm more than happy. Now maybe I can draw strength from this completed fic and finish up one of my other outstanding stories. Let me know if there's one in particular that you want to see next and as long as it's not one of my abandoned fics (see my website to see what I'm referring to) I'll see what I can do.

Oh yeah, go check out my website! you can find it through my profile page here.


	16. Epilogue

Khu Lon worked quietly in the kitchen as she fixed breakfast. She thought over the other night. Such power in one so young. To so effortlessly throw all those dreamers out into the blind was something even the higher gods of the Dreaming would have had trouble doing. Shampoo had been ecstatic when Khu Lon had told her of her plans to go to Japan to find the boy as a potential suitor for the young Amazon. The last of her preparations would be done today and they could leave.

* * *

Akane came running into the yard from her morning jog. She quickly went upstairs to her room to change into her gi and hurried out to the dojo for her morning workout. As she opened the sliding door she caught sight of something she'd never tire of.

The young man inside was doing a kata of the Anything Goes School, She could see where it was still a little rough in places but Ranma had already improved in just the two days he'd been awake.

When Ranma had come downstairs into the living room two days ago, Akane had assumed she had fallen asleep at first. Both her and Nodoka had rushed over to hug the poor boy and Akane realized at once that this wasn't dream. Ranma was much thinner than his dreamself.

Still, Ranma had spent the whole day just learning to walk, eat, talk, and a million other things people take for granted in their waking lives. The potty training had been embarrassing but had gone quickly.

Ranma had been worried when he had gone upstairs the last night to sleep. Akane had worried that he wouldn't wake up again. Their worries had been unfounded however when he was given a hero's welcome to the Dreaming. After much celebrating, during which Ranma had been voted into the council amongst great cheers, Ranma and Akane spent some time talking with his mother Hathor. Ranma told her about the things he'd seen and done in the Blind. The three of them finally went to Nodoka's dreamscape and they all sat and talked at great length. Hathor relented and gave Ranma the freedom to come and go as he pleased. That earned her a hug from her adopted son.

Akane smiled as Ranma went through a particularly difficult part of the kata. Enough reminiscing, it was time to live.

"Can I join you?" she asked her boyfriend.

Ranma looked up from where he was going over the kata in his head and smiled at Akane. "Sure, maybe you can help me figure out why I'm having problems with this part."

The two practiced until Nodoka called everyone in for breakfast.

As everyone ate Nabiki teased her sister about finally finding the man of her dreams to which Akane just stuck out her tongue and said her sister was just jealous. Kasumi smiled at her sisters' antics as she went over various college brochures and testing schedules. While they wouldn't be Kuno wealthy, the money they were due to inherit when Kasumi turned twenty would keep them comfortable for a long time if managed properly. Nabiki had told her older sister that she would go to college, no argument allowed. When Kasumi had asked who would take care of the house and meals, Nodoka had stepped in and said she and her son would be more than happy to move in and help.

Akane sighed happily, this was family. She missed this feeling, ever since her mother died there had been a hole in her heart.

"You two should get going if you're going to make to school on time," Nabiki said as she gathered her things and left with a piece of toast still in her mouth.

A few minutes later the two were walking hand in hand towards Furinkan High School.

"Are you sure you want to do this so soon? You remember how Kuno was in my dreams right?" Akane asked worriedly.

Ranma smiled at her and held up his right hand. A ball of fire formed in the palm of it that disappeared in a flash as he waved the arm quickly.

"Martial arts wasn't the only thing I learned in the Dreaming."

**THE END!**

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Author's Rants:

And there begins a beautiful relationship.

I'm Done! I'm Done! I'm Done! They said I couldn't do it but I did it anyway! I finished an actual multi-chapter fic!

"That's great now get back to dragon's destiny," shouts the rest of the readers.

sigh my work is never done.…

BTW: if anyone wants to write a sequel or continuation of this fic, go for it. Just let me know cause I wanna read it.


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